| Title |
Ant and Mite Diversity Drives Toxin Variation in the Little Devil Poison Frog
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of Chemical Ecology, June 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10886-016-0715-x |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Jenna R. McGugan, Gary D. Byrd, Alexandre B. Roland, Stephanie N. Caty, Nisha Kabir, Elicio E. Tapia, Sunia A. Trauger, Luis A. Coloma, Lauren A. O’Connell |
| Abstract |
Poison frogs sequester chemical defenses from arthropod prey, although the details of how arthropod diversity contributes to variation in poison frog toxins remains unclear. We characterized skin alkaloid profiles in the Little Devil poison frog, Oophaga sylvatica (Dendrobatidae), across three populations in northwestern Ecuador. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, we identified histrionicotoxins, 3,5- and 5,8-disubstituted indolizidines, decahydroquinolines, and lehmizidines as the primary alkaloid toxins in these O. sylvatica populations. Frog skin alkaloid composition varied along a geographical gradient following population distribution in a principal component analysis. We also characterized diversity in arthropods isolated from frog stomach contents and confirmed that O. sylvatica specialize on ants and mites. To test the hypothesis that poison frog toxin variability reflects species and chemical diversity in arthropod prey, we (1) used sequencing of cytochrome oxidase 1 to identify individual prey specimens, and (2) used liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry to chemically profile consumed ants and mites. We identified 45 ants and 9 mites in frog stomachs, including several undescribed species. We also showed that chemical profiles of consumed ants and mites cluster by frog population, suggesting different frog populations have access to chemically distinct prey. Finally, by comparing chemical profiles of frog skin and isolated prey items, we traced the arthropod source of four poison frog alkaloids, including 3,5- and 5,8-disubstituted indolizidines and a lehmizidine alkaloid. Together, the data show that toxin variability in O. sylvatica reflects chemical diversity in arthropod prey. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 28 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 7 | 25% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | 11% |
| Canada | 2 | 7% |
| Mexico | 1 | 4% |
| Australia | 1 | 4% |
| Brazil | 1 | 4% |
| Germany | 1 | 4% |
| Slovenia | 1 | 4% |
| Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 10 | 36% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Scientists | 17 | 61% |
| Members of the public | 9 | 32% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 7% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 81 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 3 | 4% |
| Unknown | 78 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 15 | 19% |
| Student > Bachelor | 14 | 17% |
| Researcher | 7 | 9% |
| Student > Master | 6 | 7% |
| Other | 5 | 6% |
| Other | 16 | 20% |
| Unknown | 18 | 22% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 30 | 37% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 6 | 7% |
| Chemistry | 5 | 6% |
| Unspecified | 4 | 5% |
| Environmental Science | 3 | 4% |
| Other | 7 | 9% |
| Unknown | 26 | 32% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 33. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 13 October 2022.
All research outputs
#1,159,202
of 24,607,331 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Chemical Ecology
#49
of 2,110 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#22,375
of 360,647 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Chemical Ecology
#2
of 29 outputs
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