Life History Patterns of Storage and Utilization of Lipids for Energy in Amphibians

Abstract

SYNOPSIS Amphibians utilize lipids, principally triglycerides, stored in abdominal fat bodies and carcass depots for production of gametes and for metabolic maintenance during dormancy. Stored lipids are maximal in early fall prior to winter dormancy and minimal after breeding in the spring and early summer in most amphibians. Extirpation experiments show that fat bodies are essential for gonadal maintenance. Patterns of lipid compartmentalization are discussed and quantified in a representative from the Salientia and Urodela.