The Emei mustache toad, Leptobrachium boringii （Megophryidae）, is terrestrial but breeds in permanent streams. Primarily, it has a polygynous mating system and polyandry also occurs. The species vigorously defends s...The Emei mustache toad, Leptobrachium boringii （Megophryidae）, is terrestrial but breeds in permanent streams. Primarily, it has a polygynous mating system and polyandry also occurs. The species vigorously defends submerged nest sites. We report on a reproductive study at Mt. Emei, western China conducted in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2011 during the breeding season. Males produce both advertisement and courtship calls underwater, and the latter differs from the former in having an additional trill-like last note of low intensity. Females might determine the oviposition location and hence the egg mass location. A low, submissive posture can be adopted by the male to avoid being attacked by other males. When fighting, the maxillary nuptial spines are employed as weapons, and males hold their opponents on their spines with the forelimbs that enlarge during the breeding season. Male body size and the quantity of fight wounds on its ventral side are positively correlated. Satellite male mating might exist in L. boringii. Additionally, underwater calls from another population of this species and a population of L. leishanense generally are similar to those of the population from Mt. Emei.展开更多
Previous work found that different Japanese lineages of salamanders had quite different levels of species and genetic diversity. Lineages vary from having one to several species and the extent of genetic variation amo...Previous work found that different Japanese lineages of salamanders had quite different levels of species and genetic diversity. Lineages vary from having one to several species and the extent of genetic variation among lineages differs substantially. Most speciose,genus Hynobius contains 18 species and several potential cryptic species. We explore genetic diversity in this genus by combining comprehensive sampling and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Based on this and previous analyses of salamanders,relative times of divergence are employed to evaluate the relationship between age and diversity among the four major lineages whose distributions broadly overlap on the islands. For Hynobius,our analyses are congruent with the previously reported high level of cryptic diversity in morphology and allozymes,particularly in species composed of non-sister matrilines. Both species and genetic diversity correlate with the relative ages of the lineages. This correlation indicates that the variation in levels of diversity can be explained,to a considerable extent,by the hypothesis that older insular lineages have accumulated greater diversity. In addition to the Korean Peninsula,H. leechii might have survived in another Pleistocene glacial refugium north of the peninsula and this refugium provided a source of colonization after the last glacial maximum.展开更多
The patterns of isolation by distance(IBD)entailing increased genetic differentiation among populations have aroused extensive concerns for evolutionary biologists.Although the IBD may act on spatial processes contrib...The patterns of isolation by distance(IBD)entailing increased genetic differentiation among populations have aroused extensive concerns for evolutionary biologists.Although the IBD may act on spatial processes contribut-ing to the genetic differentiation among populations in anuran species,the factors shaping the IBD of frogs among populations in natural systems are largely unknown.Here,we studied the genetic differentiation among six popula-tions with 24 individuals of the spotted-leg treefrog along a latitudinal gradient(1860.31 km)based on 1020 single nucleotide polymorphisms from restriction site-associated DNA sequencing.The results showed that the genetic diversity differed significantly among populations and that the insular populations had higher genetic diversity than the mainland populations.Furthermore,we also found a significant genetic differentiation among populations(FST=0.277)and no sign of inbreeding(FUNI=-0.145).The IBD was detected for all populations,and a higher degree of the IBD was indicated when controlling for the effects of the isolation between Hainan and mainland populations caused by the Qiongzhou Strait.Ourfindings suggest that the form of the Qiongzhou Strait plays a key role in shaping the genetic diversity and population differentiation in treefrogs.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China(NSFC-30870278,NSFC-30900134)Chinese Academy of Sciences(08B3031100,09C3011100,KSCX-SW-119,KSCX2-YW-Z-0906,KSCX2-EW-J-22)
文摘The Emei mustache toad, Leptobrachium boringii （Megophryidae）, is terrestrial but breeds in permanent streams. Primarily, it has a polygynous mating system and polyandry also occurs. The species vigorously defends submerged nest sites. We report on a reproductive study at Mt. Emei, western China conducted in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2011 during the breeding season. Males produce both advertisement and courtship calls underwater, and the latter differs from the former in having an additional trill-like last note of low intensity. Females might determine the oviposition location and hence the egg mass location. A low, submissive posture can be adopted by the male to avoid being attacked by other males. When fighting, the maxillary nuptial spines are employed as weapons, and males hold their opponents on their spines with the forelimbs that enlarge during the breeding season. Male body size and the quantity of fight wounds on its ventral side are positively correlated. Satellite male mating might exist in L. boringii. Additionally, underwater calls from another population of this species and a population of L. leishanense generally are similar to those of the population from Mt. Emei.
基金supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (09C3011100, KSCX2- YW-Z-0906, KSCX2-EW-J-22)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC-30870287, NSFC-30900134)the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada) Discovery Grant 3148
文摘Previous work found that different Japanese lineages of salamanders had quite different levels of species and genetic diversity. Lineages vary from having one to several species and the extent of genetic variation among lineages differs substantially. Most speciose,genus Hynobius contains 18 species and several potential cryptic species. We explore genetic diversity in this genus by combining comprehensive sampling and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Based on this and previous analyses of salamanders,relative times of divergence are employed to evaluate the relationship between age and diversity among the four major lineages whose distributions broadly overlap on the islands. For Hynobius,our analyses are congruent with the previously reported high level of cryptic diversity in morphology and allozymes,particularly in species composed of non-sister matrilines. Both species and genetic diversity correlate with the relative ages of the lineages. This correlation indicates that the variation in levels of diversity can be explained,to a considerable extent,by the hypothesis that older insular lineages have accumulated greater diversity. In addition to the Korean Peninsula,H. leechii might have survived in another Pleistocene glacial refugium north of the peninsula and this refugium provided a source of colonization after the last glacial maximum.
基金the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China(31970393)the Key Project of Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province(22NSFSC0011)the Project of Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation(Ministry of Education),China West Normal University(XNYB19-04)for providing financial support.
文摘The patterns of isolation by distance(IBD)entailing increased genetic differentiation among populations have aroused extensive concerns for evolutionary biologists.Although the IBD may act on spatial processes contribut-ing to the genetic differentiation among populations in anuran species,the factors shaping the IBD of frogs among populations in natural systems are largely unknown.Here,we studied the genetic differentiation among six popula-tions with 24 individuals of the spotted-leg treefrog along a latitudinal gradient(1860.31 km)based on 1020 single nucleotide polymorphisms from restriction site-associated DNA sequencing.The results showed that the genetic diversity differed significantly among populations and that the insular populations had higher genetic diversity than the mainland populations.Furthermore,we also found a significant genetic differentiation among populations(FST=0.277)and no sign of inbreeding(FUNI=-0.145).The IBD was detected for all populations,and a higher degree of the IBD was indicated when controlling for the effects of the isolation between Hainan and mainland populations caused by the Qiongzhou Strait.Ourfindings suggest that the form of the Qiongzhou Strait plays a key role in shaping the genetic diversity and population differentiation in treefrogs.
