Fersiynau electronig

Dangosydd eitem ddigidol (DOI)

  • Veronika Bókony
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Ágnes M Móricz
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Zsófia Tóth
    University of Debrecen
  • Zoltán Gál
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Anikó Kurali
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Zsanett Mikó
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Katalin Pásztor
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Márk Szederkényi
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Zoltán Tóth
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • János Ujszegi
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Bálint Üveges
    Lendület Centre for Agricultural Research, BudapestHungarian Academy of SciencesDepartment of Integrative Biology and EvolutionKonrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology
  • Dániel Krüzselyi
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Robert J Capon
    University of Queensland
  • Herbert Hoi
    University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria
  • Attila Hettyey
    Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Defensive toxins are widespread in nature, yet we know little about how various environmental factors shape the evolution of chemical defense, especially in vertebrates. In this study we investigated the natural variation in the amount and composition of bufadienolide toxins, and the relative importance of ecological factors in predicting that variation, in larvae of the common toad, Bufo bufo, an amphibian that produces toxins de novo. We found that tadpoles' toxin content varied markedly among populations, and the number of compounds per tadpole also differed between two geographical regions. The most consistent predictor of toxicity was the strength of competition, indicating that tadpoles produced more compounds and larger amounts of toxins when coexisting with more competitors. Additionally, tadpoles tended to contain larger concentrations of bufadienolides in ponds that were less prone to desiccation, suggesting that the costs of toxin production can only be afforded by tadpoles that do not need to drastically speed up their development. Interestingly, this trade-off was not alleviated by higher food abundance, as periphyton biomass had negligible effect on chemical defense. Even more surprisingly, we found no evidence that higher predation risk enhances chemical defenses, suggesting that low predictability of predation risk and high mortality cost of low toxicity might select for constitutive expression of chemical defense irrespective of the actual level of predation risk. Our findings highlight that the variation in chemical defense may be influenced by environmental heterogeneity in both the need for, and constraints on, toxicity as predicted by optimal defense theory.

Allweddeiriau

Iaith wreiddiolSaesneg
Tudalennau (o-i)329-38
Nifer y tudalennau10
CyfnodolynJournal of Chemical Ecology
Cyfrol42
Rhif y cyfnodolyn4
Dynodwyr Gwrthrych Digidol (DOIs)
StatwsCyhoeddwyd - 8 Ebr 2016
Cyhoeddwyd yn allanolIe
Gweld graff cysylltiadau