Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2021
Publication Title
American Naturalist
Abstract
Unrelated species often evolve similar phenotypic solutions to the same environmental problem, a phenomenon known as convergent evolution. But how do these common traits arise? We address this question from a physiological perspective by assessing how convergence of an elaborate gestural display in frogs (foot-flagging) is linked to changes in the androgenic hormone systems that underlie it. We show that the emergence of this rare display in unrelated anuran taxa is marked by a robust increase in the expression of androgen receptor (AR) messenger RNA in the musculature that actuates leg and foot movements, but we find no evidence of changes in the abundance of AR expression in these frogs’ central nervous systems. Meanwhile, the magnitude of the evolutionary change in muscular AR and its association with the origin of foot-flagging differ among clades, suggesting that these variables evolve together in a mosaic fashion. Finally, while gestural displays do differ between species, variation in the complexity of a foot-flagging routine does not predict differences in muscular AR. Altogether, these findings suggest that androgen-muscle interactions provide a conduit for convergence in sexual display behavior, potentially providing a path of least resistance for the evolution of motor performance.
Keywords
Androgen receptor, Behavioral evolution, Display design, Foot-flagging frogs, Gestural signal
Volume
198
Issue
4
First Page
522
Last Page
539
DOI
10.1086/716213
ISSN
00030147
Rights
© 2021 The University of Chicago.
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Nigel K.; Schuppe, Eric R.; Gururaja, K. V.; Mangiamele, Lisa A.; Martinez, Juan Carlos Cusi; Priti, H.; von May, Rudolf; Preininger, Doris; and Fuxjager, Matthew J., "A Common Endocrine Signature Marks the Convergent Evolution of an Elaborate Dance Display in Frogs" (2021). Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/bio_facpubs/278
Comments
Archived as published.