The cost of chemical defence: the impact of toxin depletion on growth and behaviour of cane toads ( Rhinella marina).

ABSTRACT: Many animals capable of deploying chemical defences are reluctant to use them, suggesting that synthesis of toxins imposes a substantial cost. Typically, such costs have been quantified by measuring the elevation in metabolic rate induced by toxin depletion (i.e. during replenishment of toxin stores). More generally, we might expect that toxin depletion will induce shifts in a broad suite of fitness-relevant traits. In cane toads ( Rhinella marina), toxic compounds that protect against predators and pathogens are stored in large parotoid (shoulder) glands. We used correlational and experimental approaches in field and laboratory settings to investigate impacts of toxin depletion on growth rate and behaviour in cane toads. In free-ranging toads, larger toxin stores were associated with smal

SUBMITTER: Blennerhassett RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6532526 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature