DOI: 10.5061/dryad.650cn
title: Data from: Post-metamorphic carry-over effects of larval digestive plasticity

description: For animals with complex life cycles, conditions in the larval environment
 can have important effects that persist after metamorphosis. These
 carry-over effects may influence juvenile growth plasticity and have
 important fitness consequences. Small juvenile red-eyed treefrogs,
 Agalychnis callidryas, grow faster than larger ones. We examined to what
 extent this growth pattern is due to carry-over effects of intraspecific
 larval competition. In particular, we assessed larval gut plasticity and
 determined whether carry-over effects could persist given the extensive
 gut remodelling that occurs when herbivorous larvae transition to
 carnivorous juveniles. We reared larvae in mesocosms at low, medium and
 high densities and measured the size of both larval and juvenile guts,
 livers and fat bodies. We also monitored the timing of the onset of
 juvenile feeding post-metamorphosis and, after the onset of feeding, we
 measured intake rate and mean diet retention time. Finally, we measured
 juvenile metabolic rates to determine whether any organ size plasticity
 contributed to metabolic carry-over effects. Larval density had strong
 effects on larval morphology with higher densities increasing gut length
 and decreasing liver and fat body sizes. The effects of this plasticity
 carried over post-metamorphosis. High larval densities produced smaller
 juveniles with proportionately longer guts and extremely small livers and
 fat bodies. There were no apparent carry-over effects on size-specific
 metabolic rate. Differences in larval density were also associated with
 differences in post-metamorphic feeding. Small juveniles from high larval
 densities began feeding even before metamorphosis was complete, whereas
 large juveniles from low larval densities experienced a significant 2-week
 delay. Although juvenile body mass varied over threefold across
 treatments, once feeding was initiated, neither intake nor mean diet
 retention time scaled with body size. Overall, high larval densities
 produced small juveniles with very low lipid reserves that may have
 stimulated hyperphagia relative to larger juveniles. Longer guts carried
 over from the larval stage could facilitate this by allowing small
 juveniles to elevate intake without sacrificing diet retention time.
 Patterns of intake coupled with differences in the onset of feeding
 explain the size-dependent growth pattern previously reported in this and
 other species.
description: Larval
 DissectionsThis file contains the
 dissection data for Agalychnis callidryas larvae reared at 5, 25, or 45
 individuals per mesocosm at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in
 Gamboa, Panama. The file provides the density, tank number and larval ID
 for each individual. There are total body lengths and body masses for each
 individual, as well as liver masses, fat body masses, and total gut
 masses. There are also measures of length and projected area for each
 section of the gut including the manicotto, small intestine, and large
 intestine. These values were obtained by photographing the gut and a ruler
 from above and analyzing the photo using ImageJ software from the National
 Institute of Health. The area represents the area of each gut section as
 seen in the photo, not the surface area of the gut.Metamorph external
 morphologyThis file contains
 morphometric data for Agalychnis callidryas metamorphs on the day they
 emerged from the mesocosm in which they were reared as larvae. They were
 reared at either 5, 25, or 50 individuals per mesocosm. The file contains
 the date of emergence, the tank (mesocosm) number, rearing density, and
 metamorph ID for each individual. The measurements include snout-vent
 length, belly width and tail length, as well as body mass. The linear
 measurements were made when the metamorph was asleep in its water
 conservation posture on the side of a small, clear cup. We used dial
 calipers to make each measurement through the cup wall. Snout vent length
 was the distance from the tip of the snout on the most anterior end of the
 animal to the vent (cloaca). The belly was measured at its widest part,
 and the tail was measured from its base to its tip.Metamorph
 morphology.csvFroglet
 dissectionsThis file contains the
 dissection data for Agalychnis callidryas froglets reared as larvae at 5,
 25, or 45 individuals per mesocosm at the Smithsonian Tropical Research
 Institute in Gamboa, Panama. We dissected froglets one after they had
 completed tail resorption. The file provides the rearing density, tank
 number and froglet ID for each individual. There are snout vent lengths
 and body masses for each individual, as well as liver masses, fat body
 masses, and total gut masses. There are also measures of length and
 projected area for each section of the gut including the stomach, small
 intestine, and large intestine. These values were obtained by
 photographing the gut and a ruler from above and analyzing the photo using
 ImageJ software from the National Institute of Health. The area represents
 the area of each gut section as seen in the photo, not the surface area of
 the gut.Froglet
 Dissections.csvOnset of metamorph
 feedingThis file contains
 information on the rate at which Agalychnis callidryas metamorphs
 initiated feeding upon emergence from mesocosms where they were reared at
 different larval densities. Data include size at emergence and the time
 required for tail resorption and the production of the first fecal pellet.
 The file also contains the number of insect heads egested in each fecal
 pellet for varying periods of time post-metamorphosis.Froglet Mean Retention
 TimeThis file contains data
 for mean retention time for Agalychnis callidryas froglets reared at
 different larval densities. The data include froglet ID, tank number,
 rearing density, and froglet size. We maintained froglets on a fruit fly
 (Drosophila sp.) diet and inserted a single meal of leafhopper insects
 (Cicadellidae) followed by additional fruit flies. We used the leafhoppers
 as a diet marker and counted the number of leafhopper and fruit fly heads
 egested each day to determine mean diet retention time.Froglet metabolic
 ratesThis file contains
 metabolic rates of Agalychnis callidryas froglets that were reared as
 larvae in mesocosms at different densities. The data include metamorph ID,
 tank (mesocosm) number, body size, and rates of oxygen
 consumption.