Life History Evolution and Adaptive Radiation of Hemidactyliine Salamanders

Ryan, Travis J.; Bruce, Richard C.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-4255-1_15

Cited by 29 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Much of this research has centered on understanding life-history evolution and the origin of direct development (e.g., Tilley 1977;Tilley and Bernardo 1993;Wake and Hanken 1996;Hanken 1999;Ryan and Bruce 2000). By showing that a major group is secondarily biphasic, our results suggest a new paradigm for research in life-history evolution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Phylogenetic Evidence for a Major Reversal of Life-History Evolution in Plethodontid Salamanders

et al. 2004

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Abstract. The transition from aquatic to terrestrial eggs is a key evolutionary change that has allowed vertebrates to successfully colonize and exploit the land. Although most amphibians retain the primitive biphasic life cycle (eggs deposited in water that hatch into free-living aquatic larvae), direct development of terrestrial eggs has evolved repeatedly and may have been critical to the evolutionary success of several amphibian groups. We provide the first conclusive evidence for evolutionary reversal of direct development in vertebrates. The family Plethodontidae (lungless salamanders) contains the majority of salamander species, including major radiations of direct developers. We reconstruct the higher level phylogenetic relationships of plethodontid salamanders using molecular and morphological data and use this phylogeny to examine the evolution of direct development. We show that the predominantly biphasic desmognathines, previously considered the sister group of other plethodontids, are nested inside a group of directdeveloping species (Plethodontini) and have re-evolved the aquatic larval stage. Rather than being an evolutionary dead end, the reversal from direct developing to biphasic life history may have helped communities in eastern North America to achieve the highest local diversity of salamander species in the world.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Phylogenetic Evidence for a Major Reversal of Life-History Evolution in Plethodontid Salamanders

et al. 2004

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“…Regardless of the directionality, life-cycle transitions can be explained by heterochrony (i.e., that the timing of metamorphosis, maturation, and hatching is shifted, with the result being a new life-cycle mode; Ryan and Bruce 2000; Bonett et al 2014b). What remains unresolved is the source of the susceptibility to express significant life-cycle evolution.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Metamorphosis Is Different in Plethodontids: Larval Life History Perspectives on Life-Cycle Evolution

2017

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Plethodontid salamanders exhibit biphasic, larval form paedomorphic, and direct developing life cycles. This diversity of developmental strategies exceeds that of any other family of terrestrial vertebrate. Here we compare patterns of larval development among the three divergent lineages of biphasic plethodontids and other salamanders. We discuss how patterns of life-cycle evolution and larval ecology might have produced a wide array of larval life histories. Compared with many other salamanders, most larval plethodontids have relatively slow growth rates and sometimes exceptionally long larval periods (up to 60 mo). Recent phylogenetic analyses of life-cycle evolution indicate that ancestral plethodontids were likely direct developers. If true, then biphasic and paedomorphic lineages might have been independently derived through different developmental mechanisms. Furthermore, biphasic plethodontids largely colonized stream habitats, which tend to have lower productivity than seasonally ephemeral ponds. Consistent with this, plethodontid larvae grow very slowly, and metamorphic timing does not appear to be strongly affected by growth history. On the basis of this, we speculate that feeding schedules and stress hormones might play a comparatively reduced role in governing the timing of metamorphosis of stream-dwelling salamanders, particularly plethodontids.

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“…Age at maturation can remain the same regardless of variation in metamorphic age in D. quadramaculatus (Bruce, 1988), and age at maturation can vary among populations of G. porphyriticus that probably metamorphose at the same age (Bruce, 1972(Bruce, , 1978. The clearest evidence that the two thresholds can evolve independently is the presence of paedomorphic plethodontid salamanders that forego metamorphosis altogether (e.g., Petranka, 1998;Ryan and Bruce, 2000). Both thresholds are worth exploring, however we cautiously interpret age at maturation as the pertinent accelerated parameter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Age at maturation covaries with size in D. ocoee, D. monticola and D. quadramaculatus (Tilley, 1973(Tilley, , 1980Bruce, 1988;Bruce and Hairston, 1990;Castanet et al, 1996;Bruce et al, 2002) and appears to explain much of the interspeci c variation in plethodontidbody size (Houck, 1977a;Tilley and Bernardo, 1993;Beachy, 1995a;Ryan and Bruce, 2000). In addition to maturation age, there are several other traits that can covary with adult body size: egg size (with consequent effects on hatchling size), metamorphic size, metamorphic age, and maturation size (Beachy, 1995a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life history of a small form of the plethodontid salamander Desmognathus quadramaculatus

Beachy¹,

Bruce²

2003

Amphib Reptilia

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Abstract. We sampled Desmognathus quadramaculatus, one of the largest species of plethodontid salamanders in eastern North America, from a population exhibiting extremely small adult body sizes in the Bald Mountains of North Carolina (USA). In order to test the hypothesis that miniaturization in desmognathine salamanders is due to early metamorphosis and maturation, we estimated ages and sizes at metamorphosis and maturation. Analysis of size-frequency distributions suggests that most larvae metamorphose after 24 months, with the remainder metamorphosing after 36. The minimum age of sexually mature individuals in the summer months is estimated to be 4 years in males and 5 years in females; some may mature 1 year earlier. This is earlier than other reliable estimates of age at maturation in D. quadramaculatus, and appears to account for the small size of the species at this locality. Larval and juvenile growth rates are within the range of growth rates of other populations. As in other populations of D. quadramaculatus, males are smaller than females at maturation, but grow to larger sizes. Estimates of clutch sizes based on dissection of gravid females are relatively low. The other species of salamanders in this community do not appear to be miniaturized.

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Life History Evolution and Adaptive Radiation of Hemidactyliine Salamanders

Cited by 29 publications

References 72 publications

Phylogenetic Evidence for a Major Reversal of Life-History Evolution in Plethodontid Salamanders

Phylogenetic Evidence for a Major Reversal of Life-History Evolution in Plethodontid Salamanders

How Metamorphosis Is Different in Plethodontids: Larval Life History Perspectives on Life-Cycle Evolution

Life history of a small form of the plethodontid salamander Desmognathus quadramaculatus

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