Dissertation Research: Inducible Defenses and Plasticity in Tadpoles: Characterization of Chemical Alarm Cues

论文研究：蝌蚪的诱导防御和可塑性：化学报警线索的表征。托马斯·艾斯纳——杰奎琳·格兰特许多生物在进行日常活动时对危险毫无准备。然而，有些人可以通过提示预示危险的环境刺激来预测危险。在灰树蛙（Hyla versicolor）中，受伤蝌蚪的皮肤会释放出化学警报信号。这些线索诱导同种蝌蚪的形态和行为变化，这些变化提高了它们抵御未来攻击的能力。具体来说，诱导包括尾鳍的扩大，同时尾鳍的颜色从几乎半透明变为斑驳的红黑色。据说，在变形状态下，蝌蚪不那么容易受到攻击，因为华丽的尾巴将攻击从身体本身转移开。转化后的蝌蚪也不那么活跃，因此也不那么引人注目。这一现象的生态学受到了广泛的关注，但到目前为止，介导的化学物质仍然未知。本论文的研究重点是对灰树蛙蝌蚪体内触发诱导防御的物质进行表征。这一结果将为形态学和行为可塑性的进化和生态学提供启示。

Dissertation Research: Inducible Defenses and Plasticity in Tadpoles: Chracterization of Chemical Alarm CuesDr. Thomas Eisner & Jacqualine GrantMany organisms go about their daily business unprepared for danger. However, some can anticipate hazards by cueing in on the environmental stimuli that presage peril. In the gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) chemical alarm cues are released from the skin of injured tadpoles. These cues induce morphological and behavioral changes in conspecific tadpoles, changes that improve their ability to withstand future attacks. Specifically, the induction involves enlargement of the tailfin, and a simultaneous color change of the fin from nearly translucent to a mottled red and black. In its transformed state, the tadpole is said to be less vulnerable, because the gaudy tail deflects attacks away from the body itself. The transformed tadpole is also less active and, as a result, less conspicuous. The ecology of this phenomenon has received much attention, but so far the mediating chemicals remain unknown. This dissertation research is focused on characterizing those substances that trigger inducible defenses in gray treefrog tadpoles. The results will shed light on the evolution and ecology of morphological and behavioral plasticity.