Abstract
Integument colouration can influence many aspects of fitness, and is under strong sexual selection. Amphibians often express sexual dichromatism, and ultra-violet (UV) colouration is usually biased toward males as a sexual signal. As an honest signal, colouration is related to several individual traits, but can also be related to environmental factors such as anthropogenic pollutants, to which amphibians are highly sensitive. In this study, we investigated sexual dichromatism and UV reflectance covering a large visual spectrum (wavelength ranging from 300 to 700 nm) on different body areas (throat, ventral and dorsal areas), in a widespread amphibian species, the spiny toad (Bufo spinosus). Then, we tested the impact of chronic exposure to two widespread herbicides (glyphosate’s primary metabolite [AMPA] and Nicosulfuron) on their colouration. We found a strong but unexpected sexual dichromatism with females reflecting more in the UV spectrum (throat and ventral area) than males, suggesting these body parts might be critical in intra-specific signalling. Females with higher ventral UV reflectance were in better body condition, suggesting an honest signal role of UV reflectance which could influence male choice. Throat colouration was further differentially influenced by agrochemicals according to sexes. In AMPA-exposed males, throat was more saturated in yellow-orange than in control males, and Nicosulfuron exposure decreased the throat’s reflectance hue in females, which can bear consequences on mate attractiveness. Future studies need to investigate the underlying mechanisms that are altered by agrochemical exposure.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank JF Le Galliard for providing USB-2000 spectrophotometer.
Funding
Funding was provided by the CNRS, the Agence de l’Eau Loire-Bretagne, the Agence de l’Eau Adour-Garonne, the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Aquastress 2018-1R20214, Amphitox 2019-1R20216), the ANSES (BiodiTox project # 2019/1/031), The Plan d’Action National ECOPHYTO (n°OFB-21-0941), and the Conseil Départemental des Deux-Sèvres.
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Co-first authors ST and LLS contributed equally to this manuscript, and each has the right to list themselves first in author order on their CVs. MC carried out fieldwork. ST and MC carried out the exposure experiment. AD performed the spectrophotometer measurements, and preliminary statistical analyses. ST and LLS analysed the data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript; all authors read the manuscript and provided critical reviews on previous versions. FB conceptualized the study, acquired the funding and supervised the global project.
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All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. This work was approved by the French authorities (COMETHEA ethic committee and Ministère de L’Enseignement Superieur, de la Recherche et de L’innovation) under permits APAFIS#29265i2021012014416948 and DREAL/2020D/8041.
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Communicated by Raoul Van Damme.
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Appendix A
: Reflectance spectrum in female (turquoise bracket) and male (coral bracket) spiny toads (Bufo spinosus, n = 81). The reflectance was measured in duplicates on three body parts (throat, ventral and dorsal areas) by using a USB-2000 spectrophotometer (DOCX 55 KB)
Appendix B
: Correlations between the Principale Components (PCs) 1 and 2, and the different fractions of reflectance included in the PCA: hue, UV-saturation, UV-luminance, total brightness (B1 300–700), yellow-orange saturation, violet-blue saturation, and green saturation; for the different body areas, and for PCA realized for differences between sexes, and between treatments and sexes (DOCX 15 KB)
Appendix C
: Relationships between reflectance PCA scores and body condition or sex in spiny toads (Bufo spinosus). Values are estimates obtained from linear regressions. Note that model included the interaction between body condition and sex, but the final model was selected using a top-down selection procedure, and only the last retained variable is represented (the interaction or additive effect of body condition and sex was never selected). PC scores were obtained from a PCA including hue, UV-saturation, UV-luminance, total brightness (B1 300–700), yellow-orange saturation, violet-blue saturation, and green saturation. The variables that correlated the most with axis 1 (PCA 1) and axis 2 (PCA 2) are identifiable in Fig. 2 and Appendix B. Achromatic components (UV, luminance) are mainly correlated with PCA 1, while chromatic components (e.g. hue) are mostly correlated with PCA 2 (DOCX 15 KB)
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Tartu, S., Lorrain-Soligon, L., Cheron, M. et al. Colouration matters in dull toads: ultraviolet adornment for ladies and agrochemicals fading effects. Oecologia 203, 491–502 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05482-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05482-y