TY - JOUR

T1 - Predator-induced changes in the chemical defence of a vertebrate

AU - Hettyey, Attila

AU - Üveges, Bálint

AU - Móricz, Ágnes M

AU - Drahos, László

AU - Capon, Robert J

AU - Van Buskirk, Josh

AU - Tóth, Zoltán

AU - Bókony, Veronika

N1 - © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

PY - 2019/12/1

Y1 - 2019/12/1

N2 - 1. Inducible defences are ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, but little is known about facultative changes in chemical defences in response to predators, especially so in vertebrates. 2. We tested for predator-induced changes in toxin production of larval common toads (Bufo bufo), which are known to synthesize bufadienolide compounds. 3. The experiment included larvae originating from three permanent and three temporary ponds reared in the presence or absence of chemical cues of three predators: dragonfly larvae, newts or fish. 4. Tadpoles raised with chemical cues of predation risk produced higher numbers of bufadienolide compounds and larger total bufadienolide quantities than predator-naive conspecifics. Further, the increase in intensity of chemical defence was greatest in response to fish, weakest to newts and intermediate to dragonfly larvae. Tadpoles originating from temporary and permanent ponds did not differ in their baseline toxin content or in the magnitude of their induced chemical responses. 5. These results provide the first compelling evidence for predator-induced changes in chemical defence of a vertebrate that may have evolved to enhance survival under predation risk.

AB - 1. Inducible defences are ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, but little is known about facultative changes in chemical defences in response to predators, especially so in vertebrates. 2. We tested for predator-induced changes in toxin production of larval common toads (Bufo bufo), which are known to synthesize bufadienolide compounds. 3. The experiment included larvae originating from three permanent and three temporary ponds reared in the presence or absence of chemical cues of three predators: dragonfly larvae, newts or fish. 4. Tadpoles raised with chemical cues of predation risk produced higher numbers of bufadienolide compounds and larger total bufadienolide quantities than predator-naive conspecifics. Further, the increase in intensity of chemical defence was greatest in response to fish, weakest to newts and intermediate to dragonfly larvae. Tadpoles originating from temporary and permanent ponds did not differ in their baseline toxin content or in the magnitude of their induced chemical responses. 5. These results provide the first compelling evidence for predator-induced changes in chemical defence of a vertebrate that may have evolved to enhance survival under predation risk.

KW - Animals

KW - Cues

KW - Larva

KW - Odonata

KW - Predatory Behavior

KW - Salamandridae

U2 - 10.1111/1365-2656.13083

DO - 10.1111/1365-2656.13083

M3 - Article

C2 - 31408536

VL - 88

SP - 1925

EP - 1935

JO - Journal of Animal Ecology

JF - Journal of Animal Ecology

SN - 0021-8790

IS - 12

ER -