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Pheromones and Amphibian Behavior

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Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism

Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

Abstract

Pheromones were first discovered in the Amphibia less than 20 years ago: newts in 1995 when the compound named sodefrin was located in male cloacal glands and frogs in 1999 when a compound named splendipherin was located in the male rostral and parotoid glands. The ability of an alarm compound released by a traumatized toad tadpole to disrupt schools of tadpoles of the cane toad, Bufo marinus, is being explored as a possible control mechanism. A significant number of tadpoles exposed to the alarm chemical metamorphosed at a smaller size, while the survival rate was reduced by 50 %.

Odors released by frog dermal glands also drew the attention of chemical biologists and herpetologists. Most resemble recognizable compounds such as nuts (like cashews and peanuts), cut-grass, and curry. The role of these volatile aromatics is not known, but their species-specific nature is strongly indicative of their being pheromones.

Finally it was demonstrated in 2013 that male nuptial pads in the breeding season release proteins related to salamander pheromones which are believed to modulate courtship behavior. Formerly the role of nuptial pads was considered solely to maintain a secure hold of the female during amplexus, but now they are likely to also be pheromone-secreting glands.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Environmental Studies, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Michael J. Tyler

Authors
  1. Michael J. Tyler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. Tyler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Venom and Toxin Research Programme, Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    P. Gopalakrishnakone

  2. Medical Toxicology Research Centre Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Mahdi Balali-Mood

  3. Data and Technology Innovation, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Lyndon Llewellyn

  4. Botulinum Research Center, Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, MA, USA

    Bal Ram Singh

  5. Prime Bio, Inc., Dartmouth, MA, USA

    Bal Ram Singh

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Tyler, M.J. (2015). Pheromones and Amphibian Behavior. In: Gopalakrishnakone, P., Balali-Mood, M., Llewellyn, L., Singh, B.R. (eds) Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5869-8_30

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