Biologists Find Proof of First Confirmed Species of Monogamous Frog
ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2010) — Amphibians may be a love 'em and leave 'em class, but one frog species defies the norm, scientists have found.
A trio of biologists, including two from East Carolina University, have discovered in Peru the first confirmed species of monogamous amphibian, Ranitomeya imitator, better known as the mimic poison frog -- a finding that provides groundbreaking insight into the ecological factors that influence mating behavior.
The scientists' work, which is to be published in the April issue of The American Naturalist, may be the most solid evidence yet that monogamy can have a single ecological cause.
"We were able to tie the evolution of monogamy and the evolution of biparental care to variation in a single ecological factor, and that's rare," said Kyle Summers, an ECU biology professor whose specialties include evolutionary ecology and evolutionary genetics. Summers authored the study with Jason L. Brown, a former ECU graduate student now a researcher at Duke University, and Victor Morales of Ricardo Palma University in Lima, Peru.
Analyzing data on 404 frog species, the biologists found a strong association between the use of small pools for breeding, and the evolution of parental care, including intensive parental care involving egg-feeding and the participation of both parents. The researchers then focused in on the mating and parenting habits of two similar frog species, the mimic poison frog and the R. variabilis, more commonly known as the variable poison frog, that differed mainly in the size of the breeding-pool.
