The case for studying tadpole autecology, with comments on strategies to study other small, fast‐moving animals in nature

Two of the most fundamental questions in tadpole biology, also applicable to most small, under‐studied organisms are: (1) ‘Why are they built the way they are?’ and (2) ‘Why do they live where they do?’ Regrettably, despite significant progress in most aspects of tadpole biology, the answers to these questions are not much better now than they were in the last century. We propose that an autecological approach, that is the careful observation of individuals and how they interact with the environment, is a potential path towards a fuller understanding of tadpole ecomorphology and evolution. We also discuss why more attention should be given to studying atypical tadpoles from atypical environments, such as torrential streams, water‐filled cavities of terrestrial plants and wet rock surfaces neighbouring streams. Granted, tadpoles are rare in these settings, but in those unusual habitats the physical environments can be well described and characterized. In contrast, the more common ponds where tadpoles are found are typically too structurally complex to be easily delineated. This makes it difficult to know exactly what individual tadpoles are doing and what environmental parameters they are responding to. Our overall thesis is that to understand tadpoles we must see exactly what they are doing, where they are doing it, and how they are doing it. This takes work, but we suggest it is feasible and could greatly advance our understanding of how anuran larvae have evolved. The same strategies for studying tadpoles that we encourage here can be applied to the study of many other small and fast‐moving animals. 中文摘要 为什么蝌蚪拥有自己独特的形态以及它们怎样适应不同的生境，是蝌蚪生物学的两个基本问题。尽管我们对蝌蚪的研究在过去几十年中获得了长足进步，但对这些问题仍需更加深入的理解。在此文中，我们建议基于个体生态学，对蝌蚪个体以及它们与环境的相互关系进行仔细观察和记录，从而全面地理解蝌蚪中不同生态型的演化。我们特别讨论了适应于非典型生境(例如，湍急的溪流、陆生植物的积水和溪流附近的潮湿表面)的蝌蚪，以及研究它们形态及功能特化的重要意义。基于对自然状态下的蝌蚪的观察和研究，可以有效推进我们对无尾类幼体多样性及演化的理解；类似策略也适用于对其他小型动物的研究。 Resumen Dos de las preguntas más fundamentales en biología de renacuajos, también aplicables a la mayoría de los organismos pequeños y poco estudiados son: (1) ‘¿Por qué son construidos cómo son?’ y (2) ‘¿Por qué viven dónde viven?’ Lamentablemente, pese al significativo progreso en la mayoría de los aspectos de la biología de los renacuajos, las respuestas a esas preguntas no son mucho mejores ahora que en el siglo passado. Nosotros proponemos que un enfoque autoecológico, que es la observación cuidadosa de individuos y cómo ellos interactuam con el ambiente, es um camino potencial en