Evolution under unpredictable environmental conditions: quantitative genetics of larval life-history traits in a myobatrachid frog Crinia georgiana

The southwestern Australian frog Crinia georgiana (Anura; Myobatrachidae) inhabits ephemeral pools in which the tadpoles often face desiccation. Under these conditions selection on tadpoles can be severe and can directly affect fitness during the aquatic as well as the terrestrial developmental stag...

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Veröffentlicht in:Animal cells and systems 2012, 16(5), , pp.425-430
Hauptverfasser: Smith, Michael J., University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Jang, Y.K., Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The southwestern Australian frog Crinia georgiana (Anura; Myobatrachidae) inhabits ephemeral pools in which the tadpoles often face desiccation. Under these conditions selection on tadpoles can be severe and can directly affect fitness during the aquatic as well as the terrestrial developmental stages. A quantitative genetic study using a half-sib breeding design was conducted to understand the genetic effects on larval life-history traits. We found no significant additive genetic variance in any of larval traits. Except for hatching period, heritability estimates based on females were high in egg size, larval period, snout-vent length, and weight at metamorphosis, suggesting non-additive genetic effects. These results indicate that any response to selection during hatching and larval periods should be predominately governed by non-additive genetic effects in C. georgiana.
ISSN:1976-8354
2151-2485
DOI:10.1080/19768354.2012.715594