Chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species

Abstract Many organisms use inducible defenses as protection against predators. In animals, inducible defenses may manifest as changes in behavior, morphology, physiology, or life history, and prey species can adjust their defensive responses based on the dangerousness of predators. Analogously, pre...

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Main Authors: Bálint Üveges, Márk Szederkényi, Katharina Mahr, Ágnes M. Móricz, Dániel Krüzselyi, Veronika Bókony, Herbert Hoi, Attila Hettyey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-06-01
Series:Ecology and Evolution
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5202
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author Bálint Üveges
Márk Szederkényi
Katharina Mahr
Ágnes M. Móricz
Dániel Krüzselyi
Veronika Bókony
Herbert Hoi
Attila Hettyey
author_facet Bálint Üveges
Márk Szederkényi
Katharina Mahr
Ágnes M. Móricz
Dániel Krüzselyi
Veronika Bókony
Herbert Hoi
Attila Hettyey
author_sort Bálint Üveges
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Many organisms use inducible defenses as protection against predators. In animals, inducible defenses may manifest as changes in behavior, morphology, physiology, or life history, and prey species can adjust their defensive responses based on the dangerousness of predators. Analogously, prey may also change the composition and quantity of defensive chemicals when they coexist with different predators, but such predator‐induced plasticity in chemical defenses remains elusive in vertebrates. In this study, we investigated whether tadpoles of the common toad (Bufo bufo) adjust their chemical defenses to predation risk in general and specifically to the presence of different predator species; furthermore, we assessed the adaptive value of the induced defense. We reared tadpoles in the presence or absence of one of four caged predator species in a mesocosm experiment, analyzed the composition and quantity of their bufadienolide toxins, and exposed them to free‐ranging predators. We found that toad tadpoles did not respond to predation risk by upregulating their bufadienolide synthesis. Fishes and newts consumed only a small percentage of toad tadpoles, suggesting that bufadienolides provided protection against vertebrate predators, irrespective of the rearing environment. Backswimmers consumed toad tadpoles regardless of treatment. Dragonfly larvae were the most voracious predators and consumed more predator‐naïve toad tadpoles than tadpoles raised in the presence of dragonfly cues. These results suggest that tadpoles in our experiment had high enough toxin levels for an effective defense against vertebrate predators even in the absence of predator cues. The lack of predator‐induced phenotypic plasticity in bufadienolide synthesis may be due to local adaptation for constantly high chemical defense against fishes in the study population and/or due to the high density of conspecifics.
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spelling doaj.art-0f06c6ee8c8d49a48e8a299cb49b1dcb2022-12-21T23:36:43ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582019-06-019116287629910.1002/ece3.5202Chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator speciesBálint Üveges0Márk Szederkényi1Katharina Mahr2Ágnes M. Móricz3Dániel Krüzselyi4Veronika Bókony5Herbert Hoi6Attila Hettyey7Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest HungaryLendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest HungaryKonrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Vienna AustriaDepartment of Pathophysiology, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest HungaryDepartment of Pathophysiology, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest HungaryLendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest HungaryKonrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Vienna AustriaLendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest HungaryAbstract Many organisms use inducible defenses as protection against predators. In animals, inducible defenses may manifest as changes in behavior, morphology, physiology, or life history, and prey species can adjust their defensive responses based on the dangerousness of predators. Analogously, prey may also change the composition and quantity of defensive chemicals when they coexist with different predators, but such predator‐induced plasticity in chemical defenses remains elusive in vertebrates. In this study, we investigated whether tadpoles of the common toad (Bufo bufo) adjust their chemical defenses to predation risk in general and specifically to the presence of different predator species; furthermore, we assessed the adaptive value of the induced defense. We reared tadpoles in the presence or absence of one of four caged predator species in a mesocosm experiment, analyzed the composition and quantity of their bufadienolide toxins, and exposed them to free‐ranging predators. We found that toad tadpoles did not respond to predation risk by upregulating their bufadienolide synthesis. Fishes and newts consumed only a small percentage of toad tadpoles, suggesting that bufadienolides provided protection against vertebrate predators, irrespective of the rearing environment. Backswimmers consumed toad tadpoles regardless of treatment. Dragonfly larvae were the most voracious predators and consumed more predator‐naïve toad tadpoles than tadpoles raised in the presence of dragonfly cues. These results suggest that tadpoles in our experiment had high enough toxin levels for an effective defense against vertebrate predators even in the absence of predator cues. The lack of predator‐induced phenotypic plasticity in bufadienolide synthesis may be due to local adaptation for constantly high chemical defense against fishes in the study population and/or due to the high density of conspecifics.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5202amphibiabufadienolidesinvertebrate predatorspalatabilitypredator‐induced phenotypic plasticityvertebrate predators
spellingShingle Bálint Üveges
Márk Szederkényi
Katharina Mahr
Ágnes M. Móricz
Dániel Krüzselyi
Veronika Bókony
Herbert Hoi
Attila Hettyey
Chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species
Ecology and Evolution
amphibia
bufadienolides
invertebrate predators
palatability
predator‐induced phenotypic plasticity
vertebrate predators
title Chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species
title_full Chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species
title_fullStr Chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species
title_full_unstemmed Chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species
title_short Chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species
title_sort chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species
topic amphibia
bufadienolides
invertebrate predators
palatability
predator‐induced phenotypic plasticity
vertebrate predators
url https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5202
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