| Geographic variation in maternal investment: acidity affects egg size and fecundity in Rana arvalis. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 18831176 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Environmental-stress-mediated geographic variation in reproductive parameters has been little studied in natural vertebrate populations outside the context of climatic variation. Based on life-history theory, an increase in the degree of environmental stress experienced by a population should lead to (1) a shift in reproductive allocation from fecundity to offspring quality, (2) stronger trade-offs between reproductive parameters, and (3) changes in the relationship between female phenotype and maternal investment. To test these predictions, we investigated geographic variation in maternal investment of moor frogs (Rana arvalis) in relation to breeding site acidity (pH 4-8). We found that mean egg size increased and clutch size and total reproductive output (TRO) decreased with increasing acidity among 19 Swedish moor frog populations. Tests for variation and co-variation in maternal investment and female size and age in 233 females from a subset of four acid origin (AO) and four neutral origin (NO) populations revealed that clutch size and TRO increased with female size in both acid and neutral environments. However, in AO populations, egg size also increased with female size, and clutch size and TRO with female age, whereas in NO populations, egg size increased with female age. The strength of the egg-size-clutch-size tradeoff tended to be stronger in AO than in NO females as expected if the former experience stronger environmental constraints. All in all, these results suggest that environmental acidification selects for investment in larger eggs at a cost to fecundity, imposes negative effects on reproductive output, and alters the relationship between female phenotype and maternal investment. |
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Authors:
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Katja Räsänen; Fredrik Söderman; Anssi Laurila; Juha Merilä |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Ecology Volume: 89 ISSN: 0012-9658 ISO Abbreviation: Ecology Publication Date: 2008 Sep |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2008-10-03 Completed Date: 2008-10-28 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0043541 Medline TA: Ecology Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 2553-62 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Population and Conservation Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 D, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden. katja.rasanen@eawag.ch |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Animals Clutch Size Demography Ecosystem* Female Fertility / physiology* Fresh Water / chemistry Hydrogen-Ion Concentration Ovum / physiology* Ranidae / physiology* |
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