Hidden treasures: recovering data on tadpole diversity from museum collections for modern scientific research on landscape and evolutionary traits

Abstract

Tadpoles exhibit a huge diversity of morphological characters. However, amphibian research still primary aims at adults and information on tadpoles is often scarce. In scientific (museum) collections, tadpoles are often disregarded and barely processed and thus are ‘hidden treasures’ to scientific research. The phylogenetic and geographic distribution of tadpoles’ morphological diversity is still barely understood. The underlying question, what determines the tadpole’s morphology – shared evolutionary history or ecological factors – remains largely unanswered. The aim of this ongoing study is to contribute to the identification of phylogenetic and geographic patterns in tadpole morphology, using tadpole specimens collected in different regions of the globe and housed in museum collections in Germany and Switzerland. To achieve these aims, ‘classical’ museum collection work and modern morphological, molecular, statistical and GIS methodology are combined. Retrieving the available data from these collections, combined with available phylogenetic and ecological data, will contribute to the understanding of patterns in tadpole morphology.

Full text

recovering data on tadpole diversity from museum collections
for modern scientific research on landscape and evolutionary traits
Arne Schulze
1*
, Jörn Köhler
1
, StefAn lötterS
2
, Bruno Viertel
2 &
MichAel Veith
2
1 Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (HLMD), Friedensplatz 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany
2 Biogeography Department, Trier University, 54286 Trier, Germany
* arne.schulze@hlmd.de
Tadpoles exhibit a huge diversity of morphological characters. However, amphibian research still primary aims at adults and information on tadpoles
is often scarce. In scientic (museum) collections, tadpoles are often disregarded and barely processed and thus are ‘hidden treasures’ to scientic research.
The phylogenetic and geographic distribution of tadpoles’ morphological diversity is still barely understood. The underlying question, what determines
the tadpole’s morphology – shared evolutionary history or ecological factors – remains largely unanswered.
The aim of this ongoing study is to contribute to the identication of phylogenetic and geographic patterns in tadpole morphology, using tadpole
specimens collected in dierent regions of the globe and housed in museum collections in Germany and Switzerland. To achieve these aims, ‘classical’
museum collection work and modern morphological, molecular, statistical and GIS methodology are combined. Retrieving the available data from these
collections, combined with available phylogenetic and ecological data, will contribute to the understanding of patterns in tadpole morphology.
barcoding
morphology
morphometry
larval morphology
phylogeny
?
environmental
parameters
?
what predominantly determines the tadpole’s morphology?
methodology approach
A.
B.
D.
C.
Museums
collecon
database
Ecology
(e.g., ecoregion,
habitat type)
Scienfically inacve
museum tadpole collecons
(Germany, Switzerland, Austria)
Appropriate
developmental
stages
Presence of
collecon data
Morphology
(e.g., measurements,
specific features)
Genecs
(barcoding)
Solid tadpole
descripons
(from Literature)
Public
tadpole
database
Comprehensive
combined
data set
Actual
Phylogenies
(from Literature)
Habitat
data
(from literature)
Combined phylogeny with morphological and ecological
data to reveal possible paerns in tadpole morphology
E.
F.
workshops on
tadpole research and
museum collecons
G.
Special museum exhibion
on tadpole morphology and larval diversity
at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt
Many thanks to the VolkswagenStiftung and the following colleagues:
Alexander Haas - Zoologisches Museum Hamburg / Stefan Hertwig - Naturhistorisches Museum Bern /
Alexander Kupfer - Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart / Andreas Schmitz - Muséum d’histoire
naturelle Genf / Frank Glaw - Zoologische Staatssammlung München / Gunther Köhler - Senckenberg
Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt / Ulrich Joger - Staatliches Naturhistorisches Museum
Braunschweig / M.O. Rödel - Naturkundemuseum Berlin / Ulrich Scheidt - Naturkundemuseum Erfurt /
Wolfgang Böhme - Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig
hidden treasures