Deviation of the variance in pairwise relatedness from random mating.

<p>The figure indicates the deviation of the variances in pairwise relatedness of observed parental dyads from values expected under random mating for all three spatial categories of candidate males (all ♂, ♂ within 20 m, ♂ neighbors). Boxplots below zero indicate significant deviation from random expectations.</p

The relation between the number of candidate males and female reproductive output.

<p>The figure displays female reproductive output in terms of number of adult progeny produced in relation to the number of candidate males available.</p

The relation between effective and available mating partners.

<p>The figure displays the number of effective mating partners per female in relation to the number of her candidate males available within 20 m.</p

Spatial setup of Voronoi polygons and clutches.

<p>This figure displays an exemplary area of the study plot, showing overlapping Voronoi polygons of male and female <i>A. femoralis</i>, as well as the position and parental assignments of all clutches in this area. Voronoi polygons of males and females are indicated by colored areas and dark contours, respectively. According IDs of males are listed in the legend beside; IDs of females (in italics) are positioned inside their respective Voronoi areas.</p

Additional file 1: Appendix S1. of Geographic variation in life-history traits: growth season affects age structure, egg size and clutch size in Andrew’s toad (Bufo andrewsi)

Descriptive information about the study sites together with minimum age, maximum age, mean body size and age of male and female toads, and clutch size and egg size in female toads. n = number of individuals. Descriptive information about the study sites together with mean (± SD) body size, age, egg size and clutch size of toads. n = number of individuals. *Data taken from Liao et al. [18]. (DOC 91 kb

Additional file 2: Appendix S2. of Geographic variation in life-history traits: growth season affects age structure, egg size and clutch size in Andrew’s toad (Bufo andrewsi)

The correlation matrix of population means between the raw variables in the Andrew’s toad (Bufo andrewsi). (DOC 34 kb

Extreme genetic depletion upon postglacial colonization hampers determining the provenance of introduced palmate newt populations

Abstract MtDNA barcoding is regularly applied to determine the provenance of invasive species. Variation in spatial genetic structuring across a species’ range, typically high within glacial refugia and low in postglacially colonized areas, influences the precision of this approach. The palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus) has been introduced north of its native range inside the Netherlands. We conduct mtDNA barcoding to try and retrace the origin of the introduced localities. A large increase in sample size, particularly focusing on temperate Europe, emphasizes that the palmate newt shows practically no genetic variation outside the Iberian Peninsula glacial refugium. While we find a haplotype previously only known from the Iberian Peninsula inside the native range in Belgium, the haplotype present in the introduced Dutch populations occurs widely throughout the native range north of the Iberian Peninsula. Although mtDNA barcoding can be a powerful tool in invasion biology, the palmate newt case exposes its limitations