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Related Concept Videos

Lampbrush Chromosomes01:51

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Updated: Dec 13, 2025

Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila
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Relative size underlies alternative morph development in a salamander.

Michael P Moore1,2,3, Joseph H K Pechmann4,5, Howard H Whiteman6,5

  • 1Watershed Studies Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, Murray State University, Murray, KY, 42071, USA. moore.evo.eco@gmail.com.

Oecologia
|August 3, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Relative size, not absolute size, determines if a salamander develops into a terrestrial metamorph or aquatic paedomorph. This highlights the crucial role of an individual's social environment in size-dependent development.

Keywords:
Facultative paedomorphosisIntraspecific competitionLife-history variationPolyphenismResource polymorphism

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Alternative morphological states are often triggered by size thresholds.
  • The roles of absolute versus relative size in these thresholds are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether absolute or relative size dictates the induction of alternative morphs in Ambystoma talpoideum.
  • To determine the influence of environmental factors (conspecific density) on size-dependent morph determination.

Main Methods:

  • Larval salamanders (Ambystoma talpoideum) were reared in mesocosm ponds at three different conspecific densities.
  • Size variation was induced and measured within and among these different density treatments.

Main Results:

  • Morph frequency did not vary significantly across the different density treatments.
  • Within each density treatment, morphs exhibited distinct size differences relative to each other.
  • Larger individuals consistently developed into metamorphs, while smaller individuals developed into paedomorphs.

Conclusions:

  • Relative body size, influenced by social context, is the primary driver of alternative morph development in this salamander species.
  • This finding underscores the importance of intraspecific competition and social interactions in shaping phenotypic plasticity.