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Fish introduction into fishless high-altitude lakes has detrimental effects on biodiversity. Removal of alien fish through intensive fishing is cost-intensive and difficult to achieve in productive lakes. Lake Sulzkarsee is the only lake in the National Park Gesäuse, Austria, and was an important breeding site for amphibians until the lake was stocked with fish in the late 1970s. Salmonids were eradicated in 2005, but the lake remained degraded by the introduced minnows (Phoxinus sp.). In 2018, the lake was drained through a siphon pipe and then by pumping out water with dirt water pumps. The deepest part was treated with slaked lime, but several hundred adult minnows survived in sediment crevices and reproduced in the following season. After drainage, the phytoplankton biomass increased. Indicator species, such as Daphnia longispina and amphibians, showed signs of recovery, but they went back to an impacted state when minnows recovered after the failed eradication attempt. Purse seines proved to be the most efficient gear to catch minnows. These results indicate that deep mountain lakes are difficult to drain efficiently. Sediment treatment is required to eliminate all fish.

β-N-Methylamino- l -alanine (BMAA), a neurotoxin naturally produced by cyanobacteria, diatoms and dinoflagellates, constitutes a serious environmental and health threat especially during acute blooms, which are becoming more frequent. This neurotoxin is implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases (ND) in humans through contaminated water or food consumption. Even low doses of neurotoxic compounds (NCs) can have lasting effects later in life. In this sense, early stages of development constitute a period of high sensitivity to environmental influence, particularly for the central nervous system. To understand the mechanisms underlying the delayed effects of NCs, newly hatched larvae of the mangrove rivulus fish, Kryptolebias marmoratus, were exposed to two sub-lethal doses of BMAA (20 μg/L and 15 mg/L) for 14 days. This fish naturally produces isogenic lineages due to its self-fertilizing reproduction, which is unique case among vertebrates. It thus provides genetic characteristics that allow scientists to study organisms’ true reaction norm, minimizing genetic variability and focusing exclusively on the effects of the environment. Effect assessment was performed at different levels of biological organization to detect inconspicuous effects of BMAA, since this molecule displays long retention in organisms. BMAA effects on life history traits as well as behavioral traits such as boldness and aggressiveness were assessed more than 100 days after exposure. In addition, the relative expression of 7 potential BMAA target genes was studied, given their involvement in neurotransmission or their association with individual variation in boldness and aggressiveness. Selected genes code for reticulon 4 (RTN4), glutamate vesicular transporter 1 (Slc17a7), glutamine synthetase a (Glula), dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4), monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), calmodulin (CaM) and epedymine (Epd). Despite observing no effects of BMAA on growth, reproduction and behavioral traits, BMAA induced a significant increase of the expression of CaM and MAOA genes at 20 μg/L BMAA compared to the control group. A significant decrease of expression was observed between this lowest BMAA dose and 15 mg/L for DRD4, MAOA and CaM genes. Our results suggest disruption of glutamate turnover, intracellular dopamine depletion and activation of astrocyte protective mechanisms, indicating that BMAA might be excitotoxic. Our study revealed that BMAA can have long-lasting effects on the brain that are suspected to affect phenotypic traits with aging. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of studying delayed effects in ecotoxicological studies.

Anurans have been introduced in many parts of the world and have often become invasive over large geographic areas. Although predation is involved in the declines of invaded amphibian populations, there is a lack of quantitative assessments evaluating the potential risk posed to native species. This is particularly true for Pelophylax water frogs, which have invaded large parts of western Europe, but no studies to date have examined their predation on other amphibians in their invaded range. Predation of native amphibians by marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus) was assessed by stomach flushing once a month over four months in 21 ponds in southern France. Nine percent of stomachs contained amphibians. Seasonality was a major determinant of amphibian consumption. This effect was mediated by body size, with the largest invaders ingesting bigger natives, such as tree frogs. These results show that invasive marsh frogs represent a threat through their ability to forage on natives, particularly at the adult stage. The results also indicate that large numbers of native amphibians are predated. More broadly, the fact that predation was site- and time-specific highlights the need for repeated samplings across habitats and key periods for a clear understanding of the impact of invaders.

Este artículo contiene 6 figuras, 4 tablas., Historical factors (colonization scenarios, demographic oscillations) and contemporary processes (population connectivity, current population size) largely contribute to shaping species’ present‐day genetic diversity and structure. In this study, we use a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers to understand the role of Quaternary climatic oscillations and present‐day gene flow dynamics in determining the genetic diversity and structure of the newt Calotriton asper (Al. Dugès, 1852), endemic to the Pyrenees. Mitochondrial DNA did not show a clear phylogeographic pattern and presented low levels of variation. In contrast, microsatellites revealed five major genetic lineages with admixture patterns at their boundaries. Approximate Bayesian computation analyses and linear models indicated that the five lineages likely underwent separate evolutionary histories and can be tracked back to distinct glacial refugia. Lineage differentiation started around the Last Glacial Maximum at three focal areas (western, central and eastern Pyrenees) and extended through the end of the Last Glacial Period in the central Pyrenees, where it led to the formation of two more lineages. Our data revealed no evidence of recent dispersal between lineages, whereas borders likely represent zones of secondary contact following expansion from multiple refugia. Finally, we did not find genetic evidence of sex‐biased dispersal. This work highlights the importance of integrating past evolutionary processes and present‐day gene flow and dispersal dynamics, together with multilocus approaches, to gain insights into what shaped the current genetic attributes of amphibians living in montane habitats., Economic support was provided by the European Commission LIFE+ project LimnoPirineus (LIFE13 NAT/ES/001210), by the Spanish Government project Funbio (RTI2018-096217-B-I00), by the Interreg POCTEFA ECTOPYR project (EFA031/15) and by the Societas Europaea Herpetologica (SEH, research grant awarded to F.L.). F.L. had a doctoral grant funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, grant number PD/BD/52598/2014). M.D. is research Director at Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique – FNRS.

Dispersal is a central process in ecology and evolution. It strongly influences the dynamics of spatially structured populations and affects evolutionary processes by shaping patterns of gene flow. For these reasons, dispersal has received considerable attention from ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and conservationists. Although it has been studied extensively in taxa such as birds and mammals, much less is known about dispersal in vertebrates with complex life cycles such as pond-breeding amphibians. Over the past two decades, researchers have taken an ever-increasing interest in amphibian dispersal and initiated both basic and applied studies, using a broad range of experimental and observational approaches. This body of research reveals complex dispersal patterns, causations, and syndromes, with dramatic consequences for the demography and genetics of amphibian populations. In this review, our goals are to: redefine and clarify the concept of amphibian dispersal; review current knowledge about the effects of individual (i.e., condition-dependent dispersal) and environmental (i.e., context-dependent dispersal) factors during the three stages of dispersal (i.e., emigration, transience, and immigration); identify the demographic and genetic consequences of dispersal in spatially structured amphibian populations; and propose new research avenues to extend our understanding of amphibian dispersal., Hugo Cayuela warmly thanks the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program for its financial support. Further-more, Mathieu Denoël is Research Director at Fonds dela Recherche Scientifique—FNRS. During manuscript writing, Andrés Valenzuela-Sánchez was supported bya FONDECYT de postdoctorado No. 3180107. Any useof trade, firm, and product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S.Government. Íñigo Martínez-Solano acknowledges funding by FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades—Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Spain,grant CGL2017-83131-P.

Divergence in ecological niche offers organisms the opportunity of exploiting different food and habitat resources, scaling down competition and predation both among species, and within different age or size-classes of the same species. In harsh environments, where abiotic factors determine a clustering of resources during short timespans, competition and predation between organisms is likely to be enhanced. This is the case in tropical dry forests, where amphibians have limited opportunities to feed, their activity being restricted to the short rainy season. One way to maximize resource exploitation while avoiding predation risk is by adopting different diel activity patterns. We tested this hypothesis by comparing activity patterns in adults and recently metamorphosed juveniles of Pacific horned frogs (Ceratophrys stolzmanni) during field surveys and in an experimental study. Field surveys showed that the adults are strictly nocturnal, whereas freshly metamorphosed juveniles can be found active above ground at all hours, with a peak activity during daytime. The average body condition index of juveniles found active during the night was higher than that of juveniles found active during the day, suggesting that the weaker individuals may be constrained to being active during the day. On the other hand, in a laboratory experiment, juveniles that were visually exposed to adults moved less than those in the absence of adults. Both field and experimental observations indicate a temporal niche divergence between life stages. The results of the experiment offer support to the hypothesis that the juveniles in this species display an inverse activity pattern compared to adults, which can reduce competitive interactions and predation pressure from the larger conspecifics.

The radiation of Palearctic green toads (Bufotes) holds great potential to evaluate the role of hybridization in phylogeography at multiple stages along the speciation continuum. With fifteen species representing three ploidy levels, this model system is particularly attractive to examine the causes and consequences of allopolyploidization, a prevalent yet enigmatic pathway towards hybrid speciation. Despite substantial efforts, the evolutionary history of this species complex remains largely blurred by the lack of consistency among the corresponding literature. To get a fresh, comprehensive view on Bufotes phylogeography, here we combined genome-wide multilocus analyses (RAD-seq) with an extensive compilation of mitochondrial, genome size, niche modelling, distribution and phenotypic (bioacoustics, morphometrics, toxin composition) datasets, representing hundreds of populations throughout Eurasia. We provide a fully resolved nuclear phylogeny for Bufotes and highlight exceptional cyto-nuclear discordances characteristic of complete mtDNA replacement (in 20% of species), mitochondrial surfing during post-glacial expansions, and the formation of homoploid hybrid populations. Moreover, we traced the origin of several allopolyploids down to species level, showing that all were exclusively fathered by the West Himalayan B. latastii but mothered by several diploid forms inhabiting Central Asian lowlands, an asymmetry consistent with hypotheses on mate choice and Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities. Their intermediate call phenotypes potentially allowed for rapid reproductive isolation, while toxin compositions converged towards the ecologically-closest parent. Across the radiation, we pinpoint a stepwise progression of reproductive isolation through time, with a threshold below which hybridizability is irrespective of divergence (15My). Finally, we clarified the taxonomy of Bufotes (including genetic analyses of type series) and formally described two new species, B. cypriensis sp. nov. (endemic to Cyprus) and B. perrini sp. nov. (endemic to Central Asia). Embracing the genomic age, our framework marks the advent of a new exciting era for evolutionary research in these iconic amphibians. ispartof: MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION vol:141 ispartof: location:United States status: published

In laboratory fish research, the zebrafish Danio rerio (Cyprinidae) represents the equivalent of the mouse in mammalian research. This species has become a major model for studies in developmental and behavioural genetics, neurophysiology, biomedicine, ecotoxicology, and behavioural and evolutionary ecology. To meet the need for accurate and reproducible data in both fundamental and applied sciences, it is of primary importance to be able to tag and/or recognize individual zebrafish. However, classic methods used in fish ecology and aquaculture are generally difficult to apply to such small fish. Recently, various new tagging methods have been developed. This paper presents a first review of current identification and marking methods applied to zebrafish, from external observation methods (such as skin pattern recognition, fin clipping, scale regeneration, colour and transgenic methods) to the most advanced technological developments in electronic (low- and high- radio-frequencies PIT tags, microchip) and image analysis methods (video tracking). This review aims to help researchers and zebrafish facility managers select the identification method (ID) best adapted to their needs. The main characteristics of each ID method are examined (including detection range, durability, speed and repetitiveness, ID code combination, size dependence and ethical considerations), and their pros and cons are summarized in a decision table to help select the most appropriate option for a research or management program. Finally, contextual applications of these ID methods and future developments are discussed., SCOPUS: re.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

International audience; Dispersal (i.e. movement from a natal or breeding site to another breeding site) is a central process in ecology and evolution as it affects the eco-evolutionary dynam- ics of spatially structured populations. Dispersal evolution is regulated by the bal- ance between costs and benefits, which is influenced by the individual phenotype (i.e. phenotype-dependent dispersal) and environmental factors (i.e. condition-dependent dispersal). Even though these processes have been extensively studied in species with simple life cycles, our knowledge about these mechanisms in organisms displaying complex life cycles remains fragmentary. In fact, little is specifically known about how the interplay between individual and environmental factors may lead to alternative dispersal strategies that, in turn, lead to the coexistence of contrasted site fidelity phe- notypes. In this paper, we examined breeding dispersal in a pond-breeding amphibian, the great crested newt Triturus cristatus, within usual walking distances for a newt. We took advantage of recent developments in multi-event capture–recapture models and used capture–recapture data (946 newts marked) collected in a spatially structured population occupying a large pond network (73 ponds). We showed a high rate of breeding site infidelity (i.e. pond use) and the coexistence of two dispersal phenotypes, namely, a highly pond faithful phenotype and a dispersing phenotype. Individuals that were site faithful at time t – 1 were therefore more likely to remain site faithful at time t. Our results also demonstrated that the probability that individuals belong to one or the other dispersal phenotypes depended on environmental and individual factors. In particular, we highlighted the existence of a dispersal syndrome implying a covariation pattern among dispersal behavior, body size, and survival. Our work opens new research prospects in the evolution of dispersal in organisms displaying complex life cycles and raises interesting questions about the evolutionary pathways that contribute to the diversification of movement strategies in the wild.

The ‘smooth newt’, the taxon traditionally referred to as Lissotriton vulgaris, consists of multiple morphologically distinct taxa. Given the uncertainty concerning the validity and rank of these taxa, L. vulgaris sensu lato has often been treated as a single, polytypic species. A recent study, driven by genetic data, proposed to recognize five species, L. graecus, L. kosswigi, L. lantzi, L. schmidtleri and a more restricted L. vulgaris. The Carpathian newt L. montandoni was confirmed to be a closely related sister species. We propose to refer to this collective of six Lissotriton species as the smooth newt or Lissotriton vulgaris species complex. Guided by comprehensive genomic data from throughout the range of the smooth newt species complex we 1) delineate the distribution ranges, 2) provide a distribution database, and 3) produce distribution maps according to the format of the New Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe, for the six constituent species. This allows us to 4) highlight regions where more research is needed to determine the position of contact zones.

Paedomorphosis is a major evolutionary process that bypasses metamorphosis and allows reproduction in larvae. In newts and salamanders, it can be facultative with paedomorphs retaining gills and metamorphs dispersing. The evolution of these developmental processes is thought to have been driven by the costs and benefits of inhabiting aquatic versus terrestrial habitats. In this context, we aimed at testing the hypothesis that climatic drivers affect phenotypic transition and the difference across sexes because sex-ratio is biased in natural populations. Through a replicated laboratory experiment, we showed that paedomorphic palmate newts ( Lissotriton helveticus ) metamorphosed at a higher frequency when water availability decreased and metamorphosed earlier when temperature increased in these conditions. All responses were sex-biased, and males were more prone to change phenotype than females. Our work shows how climatic variables can affect facultative paedomorphosis and support theoretical models predicting life on land instead of in water. Moreover, because males metamorphose and leave water more often and earlier than females, these results, for the first time, give an experimental explanation for the rarity of male paedomorphosis (the ‘male escape hypothesis’) and suggest the importance of sex in the evolution of paedomorphosis versus metamorphosis.

Pesticides and other chemicals often have detrimental effects at environmental concentrations. Many amphibian species are particularly threatened because of their susceptibility but also because wetlands are often polluted. Behavioral assessments of toxicity have the advantage of showing sublethal effects but quantitative measures at varied scales of integrations are rarely considered together. In this study, we aimed at showing that these behavioral endpoints could be differently affected across time and concentrations, and be biomarkers of toxicity. To this end, we tested the effects of an organochlorine pesticide (endosulfan) on amphibians during a standard 96 h test. We evaluated possible lag effects in continuing the analyses after removal of the pesticide. The study was based on 240 tadpoles (4 pesticide treatments: 0.4, 3, 22, and 282 μg/l, 1 control and 1 solvent-control). Abnormal behaviors such as lying and swirling rapidly were exhibited only in the presence of the pesticide. Essential functions such as breathing and feeding were deeply affected by the pesticide: contaminated tadpoles breathed and fed less than control tadpoles. They also moved less and occupied a more central position in the aquariums in the presence of the pesticide. A higher mortality was only found at the highest concentration. These results suggest that endosulfan is toxic to amphibians at environmental concentrations. Behavioral markers showed potential as early warning systems. They should thus be used in complement to other markers to detect sublethal effects only a few days after application of the pesticide and at concentrations where mortality does not occur. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.

International audience; Understanding the impact of pesticides in amphibians is of growing concern to assess the causes of their decline. Among pesticides, endosulfan belongs to one of the potential sources of danger because of its wide use and known effects, particularly neurotoxic, on a variety of organisms. However, the effect of endosulfan was not yet evaluated on amphibians at levels encompassing simultaneously brain neurotransmitters and behavioural endpoints. In this context, tadpoles of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis were submitted to four treatments during 27 d: one control, one ethanol control, and two low environmental concentrations of endosulfan (0.1 and 1 mu g L-1). Endosulfan induced a significant increase of brain serotonin level at both concentrations and a significant increase of brain dopamine and GABA levels at the lower exposure but acetylcholinesterase activity was not modified by the treatment. The gene coding for the GABA transporter 1 was up-regulated in endosulfan contaminated tadpoles while the expression of other genes coding for the neurotransmitter receptors or for the enzymes involved in their metabolic pathways was not significantly modified by endosulfan exposure. Endosulfan also affected foraging, and locomotion in links with the results of the physiological assays, but no effects were seen on growth. These results show that low environmental concentrations of endosulfan can induce adverse responses in X. laevis tadpoles. At a broader perspective, this suggests that more research using and linking multiple markers should be used to understand the complex mode of action of pollutants.

Paedomorphosis, the presence of ancestral larval and juvenile traits that occur at the descendent adult stage, is an evolutionary phenomenon that shaped morphological evolution in many vertebrate lineages, including tailed amphibians. Among salamandrid species, paedomorphic and metamorphic phenotypes can be observed within single populations (facultative paedomorphosis). Despite wide interest in facultative paedomorphosis and polymorphism produced by heterochronic changes (heterochronic polymorphism), the studies that investigate intraspecific morphological variation in facultative paedomorphic species are largely missing. By quantifying the cranium size and development (bone development and remodeling), we investigated the variation at multiple levels (i.e., between sexes, populations and species) of two facultatively paedomorphic European newt species: the alpine and the smooth newt. The pattern of variation between paedomorphs (individuals keeping larval traits at the adult stage) and metamorphs (metamorphosed adult individuals) varied between species and among populations within a single species. The patterns of variation in size and skull formation appear to be more uniform in the alpine than in the smooth newt, indicating that developmental constraints differed between species (more pronounced in alpine than in smooth newt). Our study shows that the cranial skeleton provides detailed insight in the pattern of variation and divergence in heterochronic polymorphism within and between species and open new questions related to heterochronic polymorphism and evolution of cranial skeleton. Serbian Ministry of Education and Science {[}173043]; SyntheSys {[}NL-TAF 3082]; Naturalis Temminck fellowship; F. R. S.-FNRS {[}J.0008.13]; Fonds Speciaux de la Recherche grant from the University of Liege {[}C-13/03]

Although rare species are often the focus of conservation measures, more common species may experience similar decline and suffer from the same threatening processes. We tested this hypothesis by examining, through an information-theoretic approach, the importance of ecological processes at multiple scales in the great crested newt Triturus cristatus, regionally endangered and protected in Europe, and the more common smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris. Both species were similarly affected by the same processes, i.e. suitability of aquatic and terrestrial components of their habitat at different scales, connectivity among breeding sites, and the presence of introduced fish. T. cristatus depended more on water depth and aquatic vegetation than L. vulgaris. The results show that environmental pressures threaten both common and rare species, and therefore the more widespread species should not be neglected in conservation programs. Because environmental trends are leading to a deterioration of aquatic and terrestrial habitat features required by newt populations, populations of the common species may follow the fate of the rarest species. This could have substantial conservation implications because of the numerical importance of common species in ecosystems and because commonness could be a transient state moving towards rarity. On the other hand, in agreement with the umbrella species concept, targeting conservation efforts on the most demanding species would also protect part of the populations of the most common species.

Predators often show strong plasticity of optimal foraging strategies. A major difference in foraging strategies occurs between sit-and-wait and active predators. Models predict that the efficiency of these strategies is affected by environmental conditions, active predators being favoured when prey are scarce and their detection difficult. The shift between the two strategies may occur through both phenotypic plasticity and local adaptations. Larvae of the fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra, are typically stream-dwelling sit-and-wait predators, but some populations breed in caves. We evaluated whether local adaptations or phenotypic plasticity determine shifts in foraging strategy between stream and cave populations. The foraging behaviour of salamander larvae was evaluated under all combinations of three test conditions during trials: light versus darkness, prey presence versus absence and food deprived versus fed; larvae originated from caves and streams and were reared in epigeous photoperiod or in darkness. Observations and video tracking showed that salamander larvae modified their behaviour in response to environmental conditions. In the darkness, larvae showed higher average velocity and moved longer distances. Movements were higher in food-deprived larvae and in the presence of prey compared to fed larvae and prey absent conditions. Furthermore, larvae from cave populations showed higher behavioural plasticity than stream larvae, and better exploited the available space in test environments. Variation in foraging behaviour was strong, and involved complex interactions between plasticity and local adaptations. Larvae from cave populations showed higher behavioural plasticity, supporting the hypothesis that this trait may be important for the exploitation of novel environments, such as caves. © 2013 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Aim Ecogeographical variation of body size in vertebrates (e.g. Bergmann's rule) has long been recognized. However, the patterns and causes of intra-specific ecogeographical variation of body size in ectotherms, and in amphibians in particular, are strongly debated. We identified the relationship between bioclimatic variables and body size predicted a priori by alternative hypotheses (heat balance, endurance, seasonality, starvation resistance, water availability, primary productivity, parental investment) proposed to explain ecogeographical patterns of body size in ectotherms, and we evaluated the relative support of these hypotheses in explaining variation in body size of the Italian crested newt, Triturus carnifex. Location Twenty-three populations covering the whole range of T. carnifex (Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia). Methods We obtained data on body size (snout-vent length, SVL) of 2639 adult newts from direct measurements and the literature; we obtained high-resolution environmental data for the sampled localities. We used an information-theoretic approach to evaluate the support of the data for the different hypotheses. We also integrated information on population genetics in our models. Results We observed strong geographical variation of body size. The best Akaike information criterion (AIC) models showed that populations with larger body size are associated with cold climates and secondarily with high primary productivity. Furthermore, sexual dimorphism increases in cold climates, as the increase in body size was stronger for females. When taking into account population genetics, we did not find support for relationships with the other variables. Main conclusion Our results are consistent with three hypotheses proposed to explain ecogeographical variation in amphibians: heat balance, increased parental investment of females and productivity. Information theory provides the framework for comparing hypotheses rather than looking for patterns. We suggest that evaluating the support for mechanisms can provide better insights than simply assessing whether ecogeographical variation is in agreement with some 'rule'. Universita degli Studi di Milano Bicocca; FRS-FNRS [1.5.010.09]; Serbian Ministry of Science and Technological Development [143052]

International audience; Ecological thresholds are defined as points or zones at which a rapid change occurs from one ecological condition to another. The existence of thresholds in species - habitat relationships has important implications for management, but the lack of concordance across studies and the wide range of methods used make generalizations difficult. We used two different statistical methods to test for the existence of thresholds for both individual species and the whole community, using three newt species as models. Based on a sample of 371 ponds, we found significant thresholds for both landscape configuration and composition. These were for the relationships between distance to forest and occurrence of Triturus alpestris and T. helveticus, and forest and crop cover and T. helveticus. Variability in the location of thresholds observed for the different species in this study caution against their use at the community level. Future studies should be based on the identification and assessment of thresholds for targeted species. Thresholds can be a useful concept from which tools may be developed to focus conservation effort for threatened species and their habitats.

The usual life cycle of Alpine newts comprises an aquatic larval stage and a terrestrial juvenile and adult stage. However, some populations differ from this pattern in exhibiting facultative paedomorphosis where some individuals reach sexual maturity while retaining larval traits such as gills and gill slits. While paedomorphic newts can, in some circumstances, initiate metamorphosis, once a newt has commenced metamorphosis, the state is irreversible. Because the frequency of this switching from one morph to the other has never been quantified in the wild, we attempted to estimate switching rate and survival by carrying out a 3-year monitoring survey of a population inhabiting an alpine lake. While morph switching did occur in this population, it involved a relatively low proportion of the paedomorphs (approx. 12%), suggesting that metamorphosis is not favoured in the study population. The hypothesis of paedomorphic advantage was not supported since neither survival nor body condition differed between morphs. The ontogenetic pathway of wild Alpine newts is thus characterised by two forks in the developmental pathway. The first occurs during the larval stage (metamorphosis vs. paedomorphosis), and the second occurs in paedomorphic adults (switching for metamorphosis vs. continuation of the paedomorphic lifestyle). Such a two-level decision process may allow individuals to cope with environmental uncertainty.