What are the contributions of maternal and paternal traits to fecundity and offspring development? A case study in an amphibian species, the spined toad (Bufo spinosus)

• Published in: Current zoology Vol. zoa072
• Main Authors: Renoirt, Matthias, Angelier, Frédéric, Cheron, Marion, Brischoux, François
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2022
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences; larval development; Phenotype; embryonic development; clutch quality; reproductive success
• ISSN: 1674-5507
• DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac072

Assessing the determinants of reproductive success is critical but often complicated because of complexinteractions between parental traits and environmental conditions occurring during several stages of areproductive event. Here, we used a simplified ecological situation – an amphibian species lacking post-oviposition parental care – and a laboratory approach to investigate the relationships between parental (bothmaternal and paternal) phenotypes (body size and condition) and reproductive success (fecundity, egg size,embryonic and larval duration, larval and metamorphic morphology). We found significant effects of maternalphenotype on fecundity, hatching success and tadpole size, as well as on the duration of larval development.Interestingly, and more surprisingly, we also found a potential contribution of the paternal phenotype occurringduring early (embryonic development duration) offspring development. Although our study focused on life-history traits such as body size and development duration, additional mechanisms involving physiological costsof development may well mediate the relationships between parental phenotypes and offspring development.Future studies are required to decipher the mechanisms underlying our findings in order to clarify themechanistic basis of the links between parental phenotypes and offspring development.