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Growth And The Expression Of Alternative Life Cycles In The Salamander Ambystoma Talpoideum (Caudata: Ambystomatidae), Travis Ryan, Raymond Semlitsch
Growth And The Expression Of Alternative Life Cycles In The Salamander Ambystoma Talpoideum (Caudata: Ambystomatidae), Travis Ryan, Raymond Semlitsch
Travis J. Ryan
Complex life cycles (CLCs) contain larval and adult phases that are morphologically and ecologically distinct. Simple life cycles (SLCs) have evolved from CLCs repeatedly in a wide variety of lineages but the processes that may underlie the transition have rarely been identified or investigated experimentally. We examined the influence of larval growth rate on the facultative expression of alternative life cycles (metamorphosis or maturation as gill-bearing adults [= paedomorphosis]) in the salamander Ambystoma talpoideum. We manipulated growth rates by altering the amount of food individuals received throughout larval development. The expression of alternative life cycles in A. talpoideum is influenced …
Aspects Of Sex-Specific Differences In The Expression Of An Alternative Life Cycle In The Salamander Ambystoma Talpoideum, Christopher Winne, Travis Ryan
Aspects Of Sex-Specific Differences In The Expression Of An Alternative Life Cycle In The Salamander Ambystoma Talpoideum, Christopher Winne, Travis Ryan
Travis J. Ryan
A recent evolutionary ecological model of facultative paedomorphosis predicts that body size of mature individuals should be larger than immatures of the same cohort. We investigated sex-specific differences in body size and maturation within a single cohort of branchiate (= larval and paedomorphic) mole salamanders, Ambystoma talpoideum. In addition, we also sampled the population after the breeding season, as some individuals began to undergo metamorphosis and leave the pond. The branchiate population was female-biased (62.7%), and mature (paedomorphic) females were significantly smaller than paedomorphic males or immature (larval) females. The majority of male branchiates were mature (86.6%), whereas significantly fewer …