Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
J Evol Biol. 2010 Jul;23(7):1364-73. doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02016.x. Epub 2010 May 19.
Development consists of growth and differentiation, which can be partially decoupled and can be affected by environmental factors to different extents. In amphibians, variation in the larval environment influences development and causes changes in post-metamorphic shape. We examined post-metamorphic consequences, both morphological and locomotory, of alterations in growth and development. We reared tadpoles of two phylogenetically and ecologically distant frog species (the red-eyed treefrog Agalychnis callidryas and the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis) under different temperatures with ad libitum food supply and under different food levels at a constant temperature. Low temperature and low food levels both resulted in similarly extended larval periods. However, low temperature yielded relatively long-legged frogs with a lower degree of ossification than warm temperature, whereas low food yielded relatively short-legged frogs with a higher degree of ossification than high food levels. Such allometric differences had no effect on locomotor performance of juveniles. Our results provide a basis for understanding the relationship between growth, differentiation and post-metamorphic shape in anurans and help explain many of the discrepancies reported in previous studies.
发育由生长和分化组成，这两者可以部分解耦，并且可以受到环境因素的不同程度的影响。在两栖动物中，幼虫环境的变化会影响发育，并导致变态后形态的变化。我们研究了生长和发育变化对变态后形态和运动的影响。我们在不同温度下、自由进食和恒温下不同食物水平下，饲养两种系统发育和生态上差异很大的青蛙（红眼树蛙 Agalychnis callidryas 和非洲爪蟾 Xenopus laevis）的蝌蚪。低温和低食物水平都导致幼虫期延长。然而，低温导致相对长腿的青蛙，其骨化程度低于高温，而低食物导致相对短腿的青蛙，其骨化程度高于高食物水平。这种异速生长的差异对幼体的运动性能没有影响。我们的研究结果为理解无尾目动物生长、分化和变态后形态之间的关系提供了基础，并有助于解释以前研究报告中的许多差异。
