Communication by Fecal Chemosignals in an Archaic Frog, Leiopelma hamiltoni

Lee, Jonathan S. F.; Waldman, Bruce

doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[0679:cbfcia]2.0.co;2

Cited by 30 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Frogs from the first release settled significantly closer to the release point than did those from the second release, suggesting that intraspecific competition may have induced the latter to move further away. These frogs are known to occupy discrete home ranges (Bell 1994(Bell , 1997, to shelter in specific retreat sites (Bell 1978), and to respond to chemical cues in their environment (Lee & Waldman 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of a population of the endemic frogLeiopelma pakeka(Anura: Leiopelmatidae) translocated to restored habitat on Maud Island, New Zealand

Bell¹,

Pledger

Dewhurst

2004

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

101

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We assess the fate of 100 Leiopelma pakeka transferred in two batches from remnant forest on Maud Island to a new site at Boat Bay, 0.5 km away, in 1984-85. Seventy of the original 100 individual frogs were recaptured, plus 35 young recruits into the population. The 43 frogs released in 1984 settled closer to the release site than did the 57 released a year later, suggesting that many of the later arrivals avoided sites already occupied by frogs. Boat Bay frogs became heavier than frogs in the source population, presumably a reflection of lower population density and greater per capita food supply. Numbers declined initially, but the frog population remained relatively stable after losses of founder individuals began to be offset by local recruitment. The mean annual survival rate after initial settlement was high (97%), indicating an average life expectancy of 33 years.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of a population of the endemic frogLeiopelma pakeka(Anura: Leiopelmatidae) translocated to restored habitat on Maud Island, New Zealand

Bell¹,

Pledger

Dewhurst

2004

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

101

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“…In mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects, wastes are commonly used as information, for example, to recognize the defecation site, territory, aggression or dominance behaviours, or sexual advertisement (e.g. Wilson 1975; Rosell & Sundsdal 2001; Lee & Waldman 2002; Zenuto & Fanjul 2002). In social insects feces are not used as sources of information, but rather complex chemical compounds (Detrain et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rules for Nest Sanitation in a Social Spider Mite, Schizotetranychus miscanthi Saito (Acari: Tetranychidae)

2003

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Waste management behavior is essential to achieve nest sanitation that is highly inferential on the evolution of group living because nest waste is an inevitable cost. However, how group living animals dispose of waste has not attracted much attention. Schizotetranychus miscanthi Saito is a social spider mite infesting a perennial grass (Miscanthus sinensis Anderss), in which all nest members tend to defecate at specific sites. We investigated the mechanisms by which the individuals select the site of defecation. The results show that nest members defecate at only one site inside the nest, and that waste management is maintained by two simple rules. First, mites defecate near the nest entrances if no volatile chemical cues are available, and secondly, when chemical cues are available from feces deposited previously, they defecate at this site. We discuss the adaptive significance of these mechanisms, as well as their role in the evolution of sociality in mites.

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“…For many animals, defecation sites may have a primary function in social communication (Irwin et al ; Apio et al ). Social communication, via chemical cues from scats, is widespread among animal groups including amphibians (frog; Lee & Waldman ; Waldman & Bishop ), mammals (ungulates; Apio et al ; primates; Irwin et al ; otters; Oldham & Black ), monotremes (echidna; Sprent et al ) and lizards (Wilgers & Horne ). However, despite the widespread use of scat‐based chemical communication, the specific function of the information transmitted can differ.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scat on the doorstep: Refuge choice in a group‐living lizard is influenced by the presence of scat piles

et al. 2020

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Group living often requires strong levels of communication between individuals. This communication is usually studied in the context of visual or auditory communication. However, chemical communication is the most widely used form of communication. We examined the role of chemical communication in mediating social decisions in a group-living lizard, Egernia stokesii. Specifically, we examined the extent to which scat-piling, a behaviour by which individuals deposit scat in a communal area, affected the refuge choice of individual E. stokesii. To achieve this, we examined individual refuge choice in response to scat piles or single scats and against two types of scat stimuli, one being their own scat and the other being scat belonging to an unrelated and unfamiliar conspecific. We show that lizards behave differently when presented with a scat pile compared with a single scat, and whether the scat stimulus was their own or sourced from an unfamiliar conspecific. When scats were in piles, individuals spent more time inspecting, more time in, and more often chose the treatment refuge as their final refuge choice, at a trial's end, when the treatment was their own scat compared with when the treatment was the refuge with the unfamiliar scat. In contrast, for individual scat treatments, individuals spent more time inspecting and more often ended up in the treatment refuge with an unfamiliar scat compared with when the treatment was their own scat. These results suggest that individuals are responding to information contained within multiple components of the scatsboth their volume and their source. These results have implications for understanding how social aggregations are maintained within squamates, where sociality has evolved independently from other vertebrate lineages.

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Communication by Fecal Chemosignals in an Archaic Frog, Leiopelma hamiltoni

Cited by 30 publications

References 39 publications

The fate of a population of the endemic frogLeiopelma pakeka(Anura: Leiopelmatidae) translocated to restored habitat on Maud Island, New Zealand

The fate of a population of the endemic frogLeiopelma pakeka(Anura: Leiopelmatidae) translocated to restored habitat on Maud Island, New Zealand

Rules for Nest Sanitation in a Social Spider Mite, Schizotetranychus miscanthi Saito (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Scat on the doorstep: Refuge choice in a group‐living lizard is influenced by the presence of scat piles

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