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Effect of water temperature on the courtship behavior of the Alpine newt Triturus alpestris

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Abstract

Temperature is expected to have an effect on the behavioral patterns of all organisms, especially ectotherms. However, although several studies focused on the effect of temperature on acoustic displays in both insects and anurans, almost nothing is known about how environmental temperature may affect ectotherm visual courtship displays and sexual performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of environmental temperature on the sexual behavior of Alpine newts (Triturus alpestris). We subjected T. alpestris to two different temperatures in controlled laboratory conditions. Temperature had a major effect on both male and female behaviors: at low temperature, the frequencies of several displays, including tail-raising during sperm deposition, are lowered. This variation is caused indirectly by temperature because it is due to female responsiveness, which is temperature-dependent. However, the fanning movement of the male’s tail during its main courtship display is independent of female behavior: at lower temperatures, the tail beats at a lower rate, but for a longer time. The similar reproductive success (i.e. sperm transfer) at the two temperature ranges indicates that breeding in cold water is not costly but instead allows males and females to mate early in the season. This is particularly adaptive because, in many habitats, the reproductive period is shortened by drying or freezing conditions, which may impair survival of branchiate offspring. This study also demonstrates the necessity of considering environmental parameters when modeling optimality and characteristics of ectotherm behaviors.

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Acknowledgements

We thank B. Burnside, W. Cooper and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript. Collecting permit was provided by the Ministère de la Région Wallonne (Division de la Nature et des Forêts). M. Denoël is a post-doctoral researcher at the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS). This study benefitted from FNRS grants 1.5.011.03 and 1.5.120.04 (Crédit aux chercheurs).

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  1. Laboratory of Fish and Amphibian Ethology, Behavioural Biology Unit, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Liège, Quai van Beneden 22, 4020, Liège, Belgium

    Mathieu Denoël, Maryève Mathieu & Pascal Poncin

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  1. Mathieu Denoël
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  2. Maryève Mathieu
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  3. Pascal Poncin
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Correspondence to Mathieu Denoël.

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Communicated by W. Cooper

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Denoël, M., Mathieu, M. & Poncin, P. Effect of water temperature on the courtship behavior of the Alpine newt Triturus alpestris. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 58, 121–127 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0924-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0924-8

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