Title

Digestive tract adaptation associated with temperature and precipitation in male Bufo andrewsi.

Authors

Xiao Hui Ma; Mao Jun Zhong; Long Jin; Zhi Ping Mi; Wen Bo Liao

Abstract

The digestive tract provides a functional relationship between energy intake and allocation. An understanding of effects of environmental factors on the evolution of digestive tract morphology is especially important. To investigate this, we studied the variation in digestive tract length across 10 populations of the Andrew's toad (Bufo andrewsi) between 2012 and 2015 in Sichuan province, western China. These populations were collected in different habitats varying in temperature and precipitation. The results reveal an increase in the length of the digestive tract and gut with increasing temperature and decreasing precipitation, when controlling for the effect of body size. Our findings suggest that individuals of populations living in high-temperature and low-precipitation environments have longer digestive tracts, possibly because they consume less animal-based foods and more highfiber foods.

Subjects

BUFO; ALIMENTARY canal; BIOLOGICAL adaptation; PRECIPITATION (Chemistry); FOOD consumption; PHYSIOLOGY

Publication

Animal Biology, 2016, Vol 66, Issue 3/4, p279

ISSN

1570-7555

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1163/15707563-00002504