Variation In Maternal Investment Research Articles

Relationships among development, ecology, and morphology in the evolution of Echinoderm larvae and life cycles

The evolution of life cycles involves transitions between discrete states in one or more of the characters that comprise a developmental pattern. In this paper, we examine three of the major life cycle characters and the states for these characters. Using examples from echinoderms, we discuss the evolutionary transitions that have occurred in the type of morphogenesis, developmental habitat, and mode of nutrition during development. We evaluate the functional requirements associated with these transitions to infer the likelihood (frequency or rapidity) of change in a given character and of biases in the polarity of character state transitions. Using comparisons of closely related species, we evaluate the change between states in one character for dependence on the state of, or correlated changes in, other characters. Based on our analysis of congeneric species that differ in developmental habitat, we conclude that the transition between pelagic and benthic development is an ecological change that is independent of changes in morphogenesis and should be reversible. In contrast, the transition from feeding to nonfeeding development has been considered to be irreversible because it involves marked changes in larval morphology. We re-examine the transition between different modes of larval nutrition in light of recent studies that show that there exists a continuum of nutritional strategies between planktotrophy and lecithotrophy. This continuum is largely determined by variation in maternal investment and does not involve alterations in larval morphology. We suggest that the boundary between planktotrophy and lecithotrophy is frequently crossed and that this transition is reversible. Ecological changes represent the crossing of a functional threshold. Only after crossing the threshold, do larvae experience qualitatively different selective pressures that can lead to subsequent changes in morphology and development. Two different changes have occurred in the type of morphogenesis: the simplification of larval morphology that is associated with obligate (nonfeeding) lecithotrophy and the loss of the larval body plan in the evolution from indirect to direct development. It is the modification of morphology independent of the ecological changes that requires alterations in developmental processes, constrains evolutionary options, imposes irreversibility, and establishes the discrete nature of larval patterns in marine invertebrates.

Relationships among development, ecology, and morphology in the evolution of Echinoderm larvae and life cycles

The evolution of life cycles involves transitions between discrete states in one or more of the characters that comprise a developmental pattern. In this paper, we examine three of the major life cycle characters and the states for these characters. Using examples from echinoderms, we discuss the evolutionary transitions that have occurred in the type of morphogenesis, developmental habitat, and mode of nutrition during development. We evaluate the functional requirements associated with these transitions to infer the likelihood (frequency or rapidity) of change in a given character and of biases in the polarity of character state transitions. Using comparisons of closely related species, we evaluate the change between states in one character for dependence on the state of, or correlated changes in, other characters. Based on our analysis of congeneric species that differ in developmental habitat, we conclude that the transition between pelagic and benthic development is an ecological change that is independent of changes in morphogenesis and should be reversible. In contrast, the transition from feeding to nonfeeding development has been considered to be irreversible because it involves marked changes in larval morphology. We re-examine the transition between different modes of larval nutrition in light of recent studies that show that there exists a continuum of nutritional strategies between planktotrophy and lecithotrophy. This continuum is largely determined by variation in maternal investment and does not involve alterations in larval morphology. We suggest that the boundary between planktotrophy and lecithotrophy is frequently crossed and that this transition is reversible. Ecological changes represent the crossing of a functional threshold. Only after crossing the threshold, do larvae experience qualitatively different selective pressures that can lead to subsequent changes in morphology and development. Two different changes have occurred in the type of morphogenesis: the simplification of larval morphology that is associated with obligate (nonfeeding) lecithotrophy and the loss of the larval body plan in the evolution from indirect to direct development. It is the modification of morphology independent of the ecological changes that requires alterations in developmental processes, constrains evolutionary options, imposes irreversibility, and establishes the discrete nature of larval patterns in marine invertebrates.

Variation in maternal investment in a small cervid; the effects of cohort, sex, litter size and time of birth in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) fawns.

We investigated the effects of cohort, sex, litter size and time of birth on birth weights and postnatal growth rates of roe deer fawns in a highly reproductive Norwegian population. By repeatedly recapturing radio-collared individuals, a total of 950 weights were obtained from 231 fawns of known age. In accordance with earlier studies, there was a period of linear growth during the first month following birth. Mean postnatal growth rates of 155 g/day are the highest yet recorded for roe deer; however, the mean birth weights of fawns were lower than those reported from populations in continental Europe. During the period of linear growth, we found no sex differences. However, growth rates were affected both by time of birth and litter size; fawns born early had lower growth rates than fawns born during or after the peak calving period, and fawns in triplet - groups had lower growth rates than either fawns in twin - groups or single fawns. Despite a fourfold increase in population density during the study, this factor was not able to explain variation in postnatal growth rates, although cohort effects on birth weight were evident.

Greater Maternal Investment Can Decrease Offspring Survival in the Frog Bombina Orientalis

This study quantifies the influence of the persistent variation in maternal investment in individual offspring on larval fitness in a population of the oriental fire—bellied toad Bombina orientalis. Offspring fitness was evaluaed by exposing newly hatched larvae to interspecific tadpole predators and assessing the effect of ovum size on the probability of surviving predation. The experiment incorporates natural variation in temperature that occurs during development. Embryos that developed in colder ponds took longer to hatch and hatched at a larger size. Larger size afforded larvae significant protection from predation. In addition, Iarvae that developed from large eggs in cold ponds had a higher probability of surviving predation than larvae that developed from small eggs. A significant interaction between egg size and developmental temperature, however, resulted in larvae that developed from large eggs in warm ponds having a lower probability of surviving predation. Large eggs resulted in large snout—to—vent lengths at all temperatures. In warm ponds, however, tails of larvae from large and small eggs were of equal length. Thus, diminished locomotory ability due to larger amounts of inert yolk can be invoked to explain the increased susceptibility to predation of larvae that developed from large eggs in warm ponds. In cold ponds tail length was substantially greater than in warm ponds, and larvae from large eggs tended to have longer tails than those that developed from small eggs. This allowed larvae from large eggs to achieve the advantages of increased body size. Thermally induced plasticity during early development resulted in an uinpredictability regarding the adaptive value of a particular egg size. This result fits within a growing theoretical literature that indicates that environmental uncertainty can result in the natural selection of development plasticity in egg size, even though the fitness ramifications are realized in subsequent stages. Thus, increased maternal investment in offspring is not necessarily associated with an increase in offspring fitness, and the evolution of developmental plasticity in egg size may be the result of environmental uncertainty during the larval stages of life.

Embryonic Temperature Adaptation in Development Rate of Frogs

Previous articleNext article No AccessEmbryonic Temperature Adaptation in Development Rate of FrogsMitsuru KuramotoMitsuru Kuramoto Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 48, Number 4Oct., 1975 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/physzool.48.4.30155661 Views: 4Total views on this site Citations: 14Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in Physiological Zoology (1928-1998), which is continued by Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (1999-present). PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Louise Souquet, Pauline Guenser, Catherine Girard, Michele Mazza, Manuel Rigo, Nicolas Goudemand Temperature-driven heterochrony as a main evolutionary response to climate changes in conodonts, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 289, no.19851985 (Oct 2022).https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0614Estefany Caroline Guevara-Molina, Fernando Ribeiro Gomes, Karen M Warkentin Heat-Induced Hatching of Red-Eyed Treefrog Embryos: Hydration and Clutch Structure Increase Behavioral Thermal Tolerance, Integrative Organismal Biology 4, no.11 (Sep 2022).https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obac041John Gould, Chad Beranek, Jose Valdez, Michael Mahony Quantity versus quality: A balance between egg and clutch size among Australian amphibians in relation to other life‐history variables, Austral Ecology 47, no.33 (Feb 2022): 685–697.https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13154Tong Lei Yu, Yao Hui Deng Geographic variation in maternal investment and trade-offs between egg size and clutch size in an endemic toad of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Scientific Reports 10, no.11 (Apr 2020).https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63635-yCasey A. Mueller, Julie Bucsky, Lindsey Korito, Samantha Manzanares Immediate and Persistent Effects of Temperature on Oxygen Consumption and Thermal Tolerance in Embryos and Larvae of the Baja California Chorus Frog, Pseudacris hypochondriaca, Frontiers in Physiology 10 (Jun 2019).https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00754Casey A. Mueller, Jean M. P. Joss, Roger S. Seymour The energy cost of embryonic development in fishes and amphibians, with emphasis on new data from the Australian lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri, Journal of Comparative Physiology B 181, no.11 (Jul 2010): 43–52.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-010-0501-yTutul Bortamuli, Sabitry Bordoloi, Annemarie Ohler, Stéphane Grosjean External morphology, buccopharyngeal anatomy and development rate of the tadpoles of two Asian Ranidae (Amphibia: Anura), Hylarana humeralis (Boulenger, 1887) and Hylarana leptoglossa (Cope, 1868), Journal of Natural History 44, no.7-87-8 (Feb 2010): 421–445.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930903359651R. Danzmann, Spartak N. Litvinchuk, Jury M. Rosanov, Leo J. Borkin Correlations of geographic distribution and temperature of embryonic development with the nuclear DNA content in the Salamandridae (Urodela, Amphibia), Genome 50, no.44 (Apr 2007): 333–342.https://doi.org/10.1139/G07-010Clare Morrison, Jean-Marc Hero Geographic variation in life-history characteristics of amphibians: a review, Journal of Animal Ecology 72, no.22 (Mar 2003): 270–279.https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2656.2003.00696.xHirosuke Fujisawa, Michio Shigei Correlation of embryonic temperature sensitivity of sea urchins with spawning season, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 136, no.22 (Apr 1990): 123–139.https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0981(90)90191-EDIANNE B. SEALE Amphibia, (Jan 1987): 467–552.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-544792-8.50012-7Robert H. Kaplan THE IMPLICATIONS OF OVUM SIZE VARIABILITY FOR OFFSPRING FITNESS AND CLUTCH SIZE WITHIN SEVERAL POPULATIONS OF SALAMANDERS ( AMBYSTOMA ), Evolution 34, no.11 (May 2017): 51–64.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1980.tb04788.xElke Oeldorf, M. Nishiokac, K. Bachmann Nuclear DNA amounts and developmental rate in holarctic anura, Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 16, no.33 (Apr 2009): 216–224.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0469.1978.tb00931.xMitsuru Kuramoto CORRELATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE PARAMETERS OF FECUNDITY IN AMPHIBIANS, Evolution 32, no.22 (May 2017): 287–296.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1978.tb00644.x