Hind-Limb Length Plasticity in Anolis carolinensis

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 674-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason J. Kolbe ◽  
Jonathan B. Losos
Keyword(s):  
Hind Limb ◽  
Anolis Carolinensis ◽  
Limb Length

scholarly journals Morphological determinants of jumping performance in the Iberian green frog

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-424
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda ◽  
Abelardo Requena-Blanco ◽  
Francisco J Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Mar Comas ◽  
Guillem Pascual
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Jumping Performance ◽  
Hind Limbs ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Pelophylax Perezi

Abstract Predation is one of the main selective forces in nature, frequently selecting potential prey for developing escape strategies. Escape ability is typically influenced by several morphological parameters, such as morphology of the locomotor appendices, muscular capacity, body mass, or fluctuating asymmetry, and may differ between sexes and age classes. In this study, we tested the relationship among these variables and jumping performance in 712 Iberian green frogs Pelophylax perezi from an urban population. The results suggest that the main determinant of jumping capacity was body size (explaining 48% of variance). Larger frogs jumped farther, but jumping performance reached an asymptote for the largest frogs. Once controlled by structural body size, the heaviest frogs jumped shorter distances, suggesting a trade-off between fat storage and jumping performance. Relative hind limb length also determined a small but significant percentage of variance (2.4%) in jumping performance—that is, the longer the hind limbs, the greater the jumping capacity. Juveniles had relatively shorter and less muscular hind limbs than adults (for a given body size), and their jumping performance was poorer. In our study population, the hind limbs of the frogs were very symmetrical, and we found no effect of fluctuating asymmetry on jumping performance. Therefore, our study provides evidence that jumping performance in frogs is not only affected by body size, but also by body mass and hind limb length, and differ between age classes.

scholarly journals Temporally Dissociated, Trait-Specific Modifications Underlie Phenotypic Polyphenism inSpea multiplicataTadpoles, Which Suggests Modularity

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 715-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian L. Storz ◽  
Joseph Travis
Keyword(s):  
Body Length ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Head Width ◽  
Developmental Control ◽  
Variable Environment ◽  
Ephemeral Ponds ◽  
Individual Trait ◽  
Intestine Length ◽  
Trophic Traits

Many organisms that develop in a variable environment show correlated patterns of phenotypic plasticity in several traits. Any individual trait modification can be beneficial, neutral, or deleterious in any particular environment; the organism's total fitness, which determines if the plasticity is adaptive, is the sum of these changes. Although much is known about how plastic traits contribute to fitness, less is known about the extent to which the various trait changes involved in the plastic responses share their developmental control. Shared control suggests that the various responses evolved in unison, but independent control suggests independent evolution of many components. Spadefoot toads have evolved adaptive polyphenism to cope with developing in rapidly drying ephemeral ponds. Larvae hatch as omnivores, but on exposure to an environmental cue, may develop into carnivores. We compared trait development in the two morphs and found that differences in jaw musculature, head dimensions, and intestines emerged early in development, whereas differences in shape of the tail emerged later. In omnivores, all traits except intestine length and hind-limb length were negatively allometric with body length; in carnivores, two of three jaw muscles displayed positive allometry and, among those that were negatively allometric, all except head width showed larger allometric coefficients in carnivores. Hind-limb length was positively allometric in both forms, but the allometric coefficients did not differ significantly. Intestine length was positively allometric to body length in both forms, but in this case, omnivores exhibited the higher coefficient. These results suggest that spadefoot plasticity is trait specific and the responses are suggestive of the existence of at least two modules: a suite of trophic traits that responds early in development and a suite of tail traits that responds later. The developmental control of these suites is the subject of further investigation.

scholarly journals Does the variance of incubation temperatures always constitute a significant selective force for origin of reptilian viviparity?

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 812-819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Li ◽  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Ce Chen ◽  
Xiang Ji
Keyword(s):  
Hind Limb ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Thermal Fluctuations ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Selective Force ◽  
Sprint Speed ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Incubation Temperatures

Abstract To test the hypothesis that the variance of incubation temperature may have constituted a significant selective force for reptilian viviparity, we incubated eggs of the slender forest skink Scincella modesta in five thermally different natural nests and at two constant temperatures (18 °C and 21 °C). Our manipulation of incubation temperature had significant effects on incubation length and several hatchling traits (snout-vent length, tail length, fore-limb length, and sprint speed), but not on hatching success and other hatchling traits examined (body mass, head size, and hind-limb length). Incubation length was nonlinearly sensitive to temperature, but it was not correlated with the thermal variance when holding the thermal mean constant. The 18 °C treatment not only produced smaller sized hatchlings but also resulted in decreased sprint speed. Eggs in the nest with the greatest proportion of temperatures higher than 28 °C also produced smaller sized hatchlings. None of the hatchling traits examined was affected by the thermal variance. Thermal fluctuations did result in longer incubation times, but females would benefit little from maintaining stable body temperatures or selecting thermally stable nests in terms of the reduced incubation length. Our data show that the mean rather than the variance of temperatures has a key role in influencing incubation length and hatchling phenotypes, and thus do not support the hypothesis tested.

scholarly journals Limb segment contributions to the evolution of hind limb length in phrynosomatid lizards

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey P. Olberding ◽  
Anthony Herrel ◽  
Timothy E. Higham ◽  
Theodore Garland
Keyword(s):  
Hind Limb ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Limb Segment

Ecological correlates of hind-limb length in the Carnivora

1997 ◽  
Vol 241 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Harris ◽  
Karen Steudel
Keyword(s):  
Hind Limb ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Ecological Correlates

Depression of Collateral Blood Flow Following Arterial Thrombosis

1977 ◽  
Vol 38 (04) ◽  
pp. 0850-0862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Schaub ◽  
Ronald Sande ◽  
Kenneth M. Meyers
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Arterial Thrombosis ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Collateral Blood Flow ◽  
Serotonin Antagonist ◽  
Limb Perfusion ◽  
Clinical Consequences ◽  
Collateral Vessels ◽  
Iliac Bifurcation

SummaryPermanent ligation of the feline aorta at the iliac bifurcation is followed by rapid opening of pre-existing collateral blood vessels. However, if ligation is combined with formation of a clot, these protective collateral vessels do not function. This study was undertaken to determine if drugs which alter serotonin function can improve collateral blood flow after arterial thrombosis. Permanent ligations were placed at the iliac bifurcation, circumflex iliac and sixth lumbar arteries in all cats. A clot was produced in the aorta of 27 cats by injection of 0.1 ml of thromboplastin. Ligated clot-occluded cats were untreated (10); had blood serotonin depleted using a single dose of reserpine (0.1 mg/kg i. m.) followed by para-chlorophenylanine (p-CPA) (100 mg/kg orally) every 3 days (9) ; or were treated prior to surgery with a serotonin antagonist cinanserin HC1 (4 mg/kg i. v.) (8). Control cats (18) were acutely ligated. 9 of these cats were untreated, 5 were cinanserin HC1-treated, and 4 were reserpine/p-CPA-treated. Extent of collateral development was assessed by aortograms 3 days after occlusion and by neurologic rating. Aortograms of acutely ligated cats indicated a significant collateral blood flow around the segment of ligated aorta, while ligated clot-occluded cats had a severely depressed hind-limb perfusion. Reserpine/p-CPA-treated ligation clot-occluded cats had aortograms similar to acutely ligated cats. The cinanserin HC1-treated ligation clot-occluded cats had aortograms which indicated hind-limb perfusion was not as adequate as the acutely ligated cats. However, the perfusion of these animals was improved over untreated ligation clot-occluded cats. Neurologic rating correlated with aortograms. These results suggest: 1) the clinical consequences of arterial thrombosis cannot be entirely attributed to mechanical occlusion of an artery, but may be due to depression of protective collateral blood flow induced by thrombosis, 2) serotonin is an important factor in this depression of collateral blood flow, and 3) isolation of the factors responsible for collateral inhibition could permit the development of therapeutic interventions.

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