Article
Social environment and reproductive interference affect reproductive success in the frog Rana latastei

Authors: Hettyey A.¹; Pearman P.B.^{1, 2}

Source: Behavioral Ecology, Volume 14, Number 2, March 2003 , pp. 294-300(7)

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Abstract:

Variation in the social environment produces selection on morphological and behavioral traits. It is less clear how the social environment generates variation in demography through behavioral mechanisms. Theory suggests that one aspect of social environment, relative abundance of heterospecifics, influences the intensity of reproductive interference and its demographic effects. These effects are countered by species recognition and female preferences. We studied the effects of social environment on reproductive success in replicated, mixed breeding populations of two ranid frogs, Rana latastei and Rana dalmatina, the former being of international conservation concern. We manipulated the social environment of female R. latastei experimentally by varying the relative abundance of potential conspecific and heterospecific sexual partners. We measured amplexus frequency and recorded the reproductive success of R. latastei females. When conspecific males were relatively uncommon, (1) the absolute and relative frequencies of conspecific amplexus decreased, indicating a breakdown of sexual isolation, (2) oviposition was less frequent, and (3) the percentage of viable embryos in deposited clutches decreased. R. latastei females in an environment of low relative conspecific abundance (1:5, R. Latastei:R. dalmatina) demonstrated 6.8% the reproductive success of females in an environment exclusively with conspecifics. We present a model for the dependence of conspecific amplexus on the social environment. We discuss several mechanisms that may influence reproduction by R. latastei, and we support conservation of the species' preferred habitat to reduce opportunities for reproductive interference that occur at shared breeding sites.

Keywords: amplexus; endangered species; frogs; interference; Rana dalmatina; Rana latastei; red list; reproductive success; sexual isolation; social environment

Document Type: Original article

Affiliations: 1: Zoological Institute, University of Zu¨rich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zu¨rich, Switzerland 2: Address correspondence to P.B. Pearman. E-mail: pearman@zool.unizh.ch.

Publication date: 2003-03-01

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Bringing together significant work on all aspects of the subject, Behavioral Ecology is broad-based and covers both empirical and theoretical approaches. Studies on the whole range of behaving organisms, including plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, and humans, are included.