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Jumping performance in the highly aquatic frog, Xenopus tropicalis: sex-specific relationships between morphology and performance.
Herrel A
,
Vasilopoulou-Kampitsi M
,
Bonneaud C
.
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Frogs are characterized by a morphology that has been suggested to be related to their unique jumping specialization. Yet, the functional demands associated with jumping and swimming may not be that different as suggested by studies with semi-aquatic frogs. Here, we explore whether features previously identified as indicative of good burst swimming performance also predict jumping performance in a highly aquatic frog, Xenopus tropicalis. Moreover, we test whether the morphological determinants of jumping performance are similar in the two sexes and whether jumping performance differs in the two sexes. Finally we test whether jumping capacity is positively associated with burst swimming and terrestrial endurance capacity in both sexes. Our results show sex-specific differences in jumping performance when correcting for differences in body size. Moreover, the features determining jumping performance are different in the two sexes. Finally, the relationships between different performance traits are sex-dependent as well with females, but not males, showing a trade-off between peak jumping force and the time jumped to exhaustion. This suggests that different selective pressures operate on the two sexes, with females being subjected to constraints on locomotion due to their greater body mass and investment in reproductive capacity. In contrast, males appear to invest more in locomotor capacity giving them higher performance for a given body size compared to females.
Figure 1. Example force trace from a female X. tropicalis jumping.Indicated are the Z (vertical), X (short axis of the force plate) and Y (long axis of the force plate) forces. Note that the animal is not always positioned in line with the long axis of the force plate, and that horizontal forces cannot be interpreted in terms of fore-aft or medio-lateral forces. When the animal is placed on the force plate the Z-force increases as a result of the weight of the animal as indicated in the figure. Jumping is characterized by a rapid increase in the vertical, as well as in the horizontal forces.
Figure 2. Scatter plots illustrating the relationships between morphology and the peak resultant force for female (A) and male (B) frogs.While hind limb length is the best predictor of jump force in females, the length of the ilium is the best predictor in males (r = 0.467; P < 0.001; see Table 1). Thus females with longer legs and males with longer ilia are better jumpers (r = 0.717; P < 0.001; see Table 1). Each symbol represents the single best jump for an individual. Open symbols represent females, filled symbols represent males.
Figure 3. Scatter plot illustrating the differences in the resultant jump force for a given body mass.Note that males (intercept = −0.78; slope = 0.66; R2 = 0.15; P = 0.003) are better jumpers than females (intercept = −1.05; slope = 0.88; R2 = 0.50; P < 0.001) for their size (Table 1). Each symbol represents the single best jump for an individual. Open symbols represent females, filled symbols represent males.
Figure 4. Scatter plots illustrating the relationships between jumping force and endurance capacity.Whereas the distance jumped until exhaustion is positively correlated with jump force in both sexes, the time jumped until exhaustion is positively correlated in males but negatively correlated to peak jump force in females (see Table 2). Each symbol represents the single best jump for an individual. Open symbols represent females, filled symbols represent males.
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