Daily temperature fluctuations unpredictably influence developmental rate and morphology at a critical early larval stage in a frog

The impacts of diel thermal variability on growth, development and performance of wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from two thermally distinct rivers

Temperature in many natural aquatic environments follows a diel cycle, but to date, we know little on how diel thermal cycles affect fish biology. The current study investigates the growth, development and physiological performance of wild Atlantic salmon collected from the Miramichi and Restigouche rivers (NB, Canada). Fish were collected as parr and acclimated to either 16-21 or 19-24°C diel thermal cycles throughout the parr and smolt life stages. Both Miramichi and Restigouche Atlantic salmon parr grew at similar rates during 16-21 or 19-24°C acclimations. However, as smolts, the growth rates of the Miramichi (-8% body mass day-1) and Restigouche (-38% body mass day-1) fish were significantly slower at 19-24°C, and were in fact negative, indicating loss of mass in this group. Acclimation to 19-24°C also increased Atlantic salmon CTmax. Our findings suggest that both life stage and river origin impact Atlantic salmon growth and performance in the thermal range used herein. These findings provide evidence for local adaptation of Atlantic salmon, increased vulnerability to warming temperatures, and highlight the differential impacts of these ecologically relevant diel thermal cycles on the juvenile life stages in this species.

Exposure to Low Concentrations of AMPA Influences Morphology and Decreases Survival During Larval Development in a Widespread Amphibian Species

Glyphosate's primary metabolite, AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid), is one of the most widely detected anthropogenic substance in surface waters worldwide. However, ecotoxicological studies on the potential effects of this metabolite at environmental concentrations on wildlife are scarce. Yet, due to its chemical properties, AMPA is likely to affect non-target species. In this study, we investigated sublethal effects of environmental concentrations of AMPA on the larval development of a widespread amphibian species, the spined toad Bufo spinosus. We performed a factorial experiment to study the effect of concentration and the timing of exposure (during embryonic development, larval development or both) to AMPA on the morphology, rate of development and survival of tadpoles. AMPA and timing of exposure interactively affected tadpole size (individuals exposed to AMPA after hatching were transitorily smaller, while individuals exposed to AMPA before hatching were longer), but not duration of development. Most of these effects were linked to exposure during embryonic development. Such effects in individuals exposed during embryonic development solely were long-lasting and persisted until the latest larval stages. Finally, we found that exposure to AMPA after hatching (during the larval stage) increased mortality. Exposure to low environmental concentrations of AMPA could have long-lasting consequences on fitness and population persistence. These findings are especially important to take into account at a time when multiple threats can interact to affect wildlife.

Phenotypic variation in Xenopus laevis tadpoles from contrasting climatic regimes is the result of adaptation and plasticity

Phenotypic variations between populations often correlate with climatic variables. Determining the presence of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation of a species to different environments over a large spatial scale can provide insight on the persistence of a species across its range. Amphibians, and in particular their larvae, are good models for studies of phenotypic variation as they are especially sensitive to their immediate environment. Few studies have attempted to determine the mechanisms that drive phenotypic variation between populations of a single amphibian species over a large spatial scale especially across contrasting climatic regimes. The African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, occurs in two regions with contrasting rainfall regimes in southern Africa. We hypothesised that the phenotypic variation of life-history traits of X. laevis tadpoles emerges from a combination of plastic and genetic responses. We predicted that plasticity would allow the development of tadpoles from both regions in each environment. We also predicted that local adaptation of larval traits would drive the differentiation of reaction norms between populations and lower survival in tadpoles reared away from their home environment. We measured growth, time to metamorphosis, and survival in a reciprocal transplant experiment using outdoor mesocosms. Supporting our prediction, we found that the measured variation of all traits was explained by both adaptation and plasticity. However, the reaction norms differed between populations suggesting adaptive and asymmetric plasticity. All tadpoles experienced lower survival when translocated, but only translocated tadpoles from the winter rainfall region matched survival of local tadpoles. This has implications for the dynamics of translocated X. laevis into novel environments, especially from the winter rainfall region. Our discovery of their asymmetric capacity to overcome novel environmental conditions by phenotypic plasticity alone provides insight into their invasion success.

Variable temperature regimes and wetland salinity reduce performance of juvenile wood frogs

On a changing planet, amphibians must respond to weather events shifting in frequency and magnitude, and to how those temperature and precipitation changes interact with other anthropogenic disturbances that modify amphibian habitat. To understand how drastic changes in environmental conditions affect wood frog tadpoles, we tested five temperature manipulations, including Ambient (water temperatures tracking daily air temperatures), Elevated (+ 3 °C above ambient), Nightly (removal of nightly lows), Spike (+ 6 °C above ambient every third week), and Flux (alternating ambient and + 3 °C weekly) crossed with Low Salt (specific conductivity: 109-207 µS-cm) and High Salt (1900-2000 µS-cm). We replicated each of the ten resulting treatments four times. High-salinity conditions produced larger metamorphs than low-salinity conditions. Tadpole survival was reduced only by the Spike treatment (P = 0.017). Elevated temperatures did not shorten larval periods; time to metamorphosis did not differ among temperature treatments (P = 0.328). We retained 135 recently metamorphosed frogs in outdoor terrestrial enclosures for 10 months to investigate larval environment carryover effects. Juvenile frogs grew larger in low-density terrestrial enclosures than high density (P = 0.015) and frogs from Ambient Low Salt larval conditions grew and survived better than frogs from manipulated larval conditions. Frogs from High Salt larval conditions had lower survival than frogs from Low Salt conditions. Our results suggest that anthropogenic disturbances to larval environmental conditions can affect both larval and post-metamorphic individuals, with detrimental carryover effects of high-salinity larval conditions not emerging until the juvenile life stage.

Impact of fluctuating developmental temperatures on phenotypic traits in reptiles: a meta-analysis

During the vulnerable stages of early life, most ectothermic animals experience hourly and diel fluctuations in temperature as air temperatures change. While we know a great deal about how different constant temperatures impact the phenotypes of developing ectotherms, we know remarkably little about the impacts of temperature fluctuations on the development of ectotherms. In this study, we used a meta-analytic approach to compare the mean and variance of phenotypic outcomes from constant and fluctuating incubation temperatures across reptile species. We found that fluctuating temperatures provided a small benefit (higher hatching success and shorter incubation durations) at cool mean temperatures compared with constant temperatures, but had a negative effect at warm mean temperatures. In addition, more extreme temperature fluctuations led to greater reductions in embryonic survival compared with moderate temperature fluctuations. Within the limited data available from species with temperature-dependent sex determination, embryos had a higher chance of developing as female when developing in fluctuating temperatures compared with those developing in constant temperatures. With our meta-analytic approach, we identified average mean nest temperatures across all taxa where reptiles switch from receiving benefits to incurring costs when incubation temperatures fluctuate. More broadly, our study indicates that the impact of fluctuating developmental temperature on some phenotypes in ectothermic taxa are likely to be predictable via integration of developmental temperature profiles with thermal performance curves.

Rapid microgeographic evolution in response to climate change

Environmental change is predicted to accelerate into the future and will exert strong selection pressure on biota. Although many species may be fated to extinction, others may survive through their capacity to evolve rapidly at highly localized (i.e., microgeographic) scales. Yet, even as new examples have been discovered, the limits to such evolutionary responses have not often been evaluated. One of the first examples of microgeographic variation involved pond populations of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica). Although separated by just tens to hundreds of meters, these populations exhibited countergradient variation in intrinsic embryonic development rates when reared in a common garden. We repeated this experiment 17 years (approximately six to nine generations) later and found that microgeographic variation persists in contemporary populations. Furthermore, we found that contemporary embryos have evolved to develop 14-19% faster than those in 2001. Structural equation models indicate that the predominant cause for this response is likely due to changes in climate over the intervening 17 years. Despite potential for rapid and fine-scale evolution, demographic declines in populations experiencing the greatest changes in climate and habitat imply a limit to the species' ability to mitigate extreme environmental change.

Does temperature at local scale explain thermal biology patterns of temperate tadpoles?

Most of the literature on temperature-organism interactions rely on mean temperature (mostly air), disregarding the real complexity of this variable. There is a growing consensus about the importance of considering the temperature fluctuations as a mechanism improving organism's performance. Tadpoles are small body size ectotherm organisms that behave isothermally with their environment. As such, are good models for studying their thermal biology relative to their immediate environment. We studied six anuran tadpole species in North Patagonia, Alsodes gargola, Hylorina sylvatica, Batrachyla taeniata, Pleurodema thaul, P. bufoninum and Rhinella spinulosa, distributed in a West-East altitudinal cline with different environments and thermal conditions. We evaluated the relationship between thermal descriptors at a local scale and the thermal biology patterns of these temperate tadpoles. We estimated thermal tolerance limits and thermal sensitivity of locomotion of each species. The different aquatic environments showed important differences in local thermal conditions, associated with observed differences in the thermal traits in these tadpoles. Species exposed to lower temperature fluctuations and lower environmental mean temperatures showed lower swimming optimal temperatures and narrower thermal tolerance ranges. We found greater variability in the upper than in the lower critical limits in these Patagonian anuran tadpoles. Minimum critical temperatures were close to freezing temperature, possibly in detriment of their tolerance to high temperatures. Overall, our results suggest that these species are adapted to low temperatures. Finally, warming tolerances and predicted thermal safety margins, show that none of the studied species appear to be under thermal stress that may compromise their survival at the present time or in the near future, under a moderate climate change scenario.

Aminomethylphosphonic acid alters amphibian embryonic development at environmental concentrations

Despite intense societal and scientific debates regarding glyphosate toxicity, it remains the most widely used herbicide. The primary metabolite of glyphosate, AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid), is the main contaminant detected in surface waters worldwide, both because of the extensive use of glyphosate and because of other widespread sources of AMPA (i.e., industrial detergents). Studies on potential effects of glyphosate using environmentally relevant concentrations of AMPA on non-target wildlife species are lacking. We experimentally tested the effects of AMPA on embryonic development in a common European toad at concentrations spanning the range found in natural water bodies (from 0.07 to 3.57 μg l^-1). Our experimental concentrations of AMPA were 100-6000 times lower than official Predicted-No-Effect-Concentrations. We found that these low-level concentrations of AMPA decreased embryonic survival, increased development duration and influenced hatchling morphology. Response patterns were more complex than classical linear concentration-response relationships, as concentration responses were nonmonotonic, with greater effects at low-concentrations of AMPA than at high levels. Based on our results we recommend that investigators focus not only on effects of "parent compounds," but also their metabolites at environmentally relevant concentrations in order to comprehensively assess impacts of anthropogenic contaminants on the environment.

Ecologically relevant thermal fluctuations enhance offspring fitness: biological and methodological implications for studies of thermal developmental plasticity

Natural thermal environments are notably complex and challenging to mimic in controlled studies. Consequently, our understanding of the ecological relevance and underlying mechanisms of organismal responses to thermal environments is often limited. For example, studies of thermal developmental plasticity have provided key insights into the ecological consequences of temperature variation, but most laboratory studies use treatments that do not reflect natural thermal regimes. While controlling other important factors, we compared the effects of naturally fluctuating temperatures with those of commonly used laboratory regimes on development of lizard embryos and offspring phenotypes and survival. We incubated eggs in four treatments: three that followed procedures commonly used in the literature, and one that precisely mimicked naturally fluctuating nest temperatures. To explore context-dependent effects, we replicated these treatments across two seasonal regimes: relatively cool temperatures from nests constructed early in the season and warm temperatures from late-season nests. We show that natural thermal fluctuations have a relatively small effect on developmental variables but enhance hatchling performance and survival at cooler temperatures. Thus, natural thermal fluctuations are important for successful development and simpler approximations (e.g. repeated sine waves, constant temperatures) may poorly reflect natural systems under some conditions. Thus, the benefits of precisely replicating real-world temperatures in controlled studies may outweigh logistical costs. Although patterns might vary according to study system and research goals, our methodological approach demonstrates the importance of incorporating natural variation into controlled studies and provides biologists interested in thermal ecology with a framework for validating the effectiveness of commonly used methods.

Evaluating Potential Distribution of High-Risk Aquatic Invasive Species in the Water Garden and Aquarium Trade at a Global Scale Based on Current Established Populations

Aquatic non-native invasive species are commonly traded in the worldwide water garden and aquarium markets, and some of these species pose major threats to the economy, the environment, and human health. Understanding the potential suitable habitat for these species at a global scale and at regional scales can inform risk assessments and predict future potential establishment. Typically, global habitat suitability models are fit for freshwater species with only climate variables, which provides little information about suitable terrestrial conditions for aquatic species. Remotely sensed data including topography and land cover data have the potential to improve our understanding of suitable habitat for aquatic species. In this study, we fit species distribution models using five different model algorithms for three non-native aquatic invasive species with bioclimatic, topographic, and remotely sensed covariates to evaluate potential suitable habitat beyond simple climate matches. The species examined included a frog (Xenopus laevis), toad (Bombina orientalis), and snail (Pomacea spp.). Using a unique modeling approach for each species including background point selection based on known established populations resulted in robust ensemble habitat suitability models. All models for all species had test area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values greater than 0.70 and percent correctly classified values greater than 0.65. Importantly, we employed multivariate environmental similarity surface maps to evaluate potential extrapolation beyond observed conditions when applying models globally. These global models provide necessary forecasts of where these aquatic invasive species have the potential for establishment outside their native range, a key component in risk analyses.

Warming-induced shifts in amphibian phenology and behavior lead to altered predator-prey dynamics

Climate change-induced phenological variation in amphibians can disrupt time-sensitive processes such as breeding, hatching, and metamorphosis, and can consequently alter size-dependent interactions such as predation. Temperature can further alter size-dependent, predator-prey relationships through changes in species' behavior. We thus hypothesized that phenological shifts due to climate warming would alter the predator-prey dynamic in a larval amphibian community through changes in body size and behavior of both the predator and prey. We utilized an amphibian predator-prey system common to the montane wetlands of the U.S. Pacific Northwest: the long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) and its anuran prey, the Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla). We conducted predation trials to test if changes in predator phenology and environmental temperature influence predation success. We simulated predator phenological shifts using different size classes of the long-toed salamander representing an earlier onset of breeding while using spring temperatures corresponding to early and mid-season larval rearing conditions. Our results indicated that the predator-prey dynamic was highly dependent upon predator phenology and temperature, and both acted synergistically. Increased size asymmetry resulted in higher tadpole predation rates and tadpole tail damage. Both predators and prey altered activity and locomotor performance in warmer treatments. Consequently, behavioral modifications resulted in decreased survival rates of tadpoles in the presence of large salamander larvae. If predators shift to breed disproportionately earlier than prey due to climate warming, this has the potential to negatively impact tadpole populations in high-elevation amphibian assemblages through changes in predation rates mediated by behavior.

Daily, repeating fluctuations in embryonic incubation temperature alter metabolism and growth of Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)

Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) utilize overwintering embryonic development (up to 180 days), and such stenothermic, cold-water embryos may be particularly susceptible to thermal shifts. We incubated whitefish embryos in temperature treatments that were constant temperature (2.0 ± 0.1 °C, 5.0 ± 0.1 °C, and 8.0 ± 0.1 °C; mean ± SD) or variable temperature (VT, mean = 5.0 ± 0.3 °C). In the VT, a daily 2 °C temperature change followed a continuous pattern throughout development: 2-4-6-8-6-4-2 °C. Hatchling survival proportion from fertilization to hatch was significantly impacted by incubation temperature (P < 0.001): 2 °C (0.88 ± 0.01) and 5 °C (0.91 ± 0.01) showed higher survival than both the VT (0.83 ± 0.02) and 8 °C groups (0.15 ± 0.06), which were statistically distinct from each other. Time to hatch (dpf) was significantly different across all treatments (P < 0.001): 8 °C (68 ± 2 dpf), VT (111 ± 4 dpf), 5 °C (116 ± 4 dpf), 2 °C (170 ± 3 dpf). Likewise, hatchling yolk-free dry mass (mg) and total body length (mm) were significantly different across all treatments (P < 0.001): 8 °C (0.66 ± 0.08 mg; 11.1 ± 0.08 mm), VT (0.97 ± 0.06 mg; 11.7 ± 0.05 mm), 5 °C (1.07 ± 0.03 mg; 12.0 ± 0.02 mm), 2 °C (1.36 ± 0.04 mg; 12.8 ± 0.05 mm). Oxygen consumption rate (V̇o₂) was significantly affected by the interaction between treatment and measurement temperature (P < 0.001). Hatchling VT whitefish showed mean V̇o₂ that was higher compared to the 2 °C group measured at 2 °C, and lower compared to the 2 °C and 5 °C group measured at 8 °C. This study demonstrates that the VT incubation treatment produced fewer (increased mortality), smaller embryos that hatched earlier than 2 °C and 5 °C embryos. The plasticity of V̇o₂ for this stenothermic-incubating fish species under variable incubation conditions reveals a metabolic cost to cycling thermal incubation conditions.

Thermal performance curves under daily thermal fluctuation: A study in helmeted water toad tadpoles

Most research in physiological ecology has focused on the effects of mean changes in temperature under the classic "hot vs cold" acclimation treatment; however, current evidence suggests that an increment in both the mean and variance of temperature could act synergistically to amplify the negative effects of global temperature increase and how it would affect fitness and performance-related traits in ectothermic organisms. We assessed the effects of acclimation to daily variance of temperature on thermal performance curves of swimming speed in helmeted water toad tadpoles (Calyptocephalella gayi). Acclimation treatments were 20°C ± 0.1 SD (constant) and 20°C ± 1.5 SD (fluctuating). We draw two key findings: first, tadpoles exposed to daily temperature fluctuation had reduced maximal performance (Z_max), and flattened thermal performance curves, thus supporting the "vertical shift or faster-slower" hypothesis, and suggesting that overall swimming performance would be lower through an examination of temperatures under more realistic and ecologically-relevant fluctuating regimens; second, there was significant interindividual variation in performance traits by means of significant repeatability estimates. Our present results suggest that the widespread use of constant acclimation temperatures in laboratory experiments to estimate thermal performance curves (TPCs) may lead to an overestimation of actual organismal performance. We encourage the use of temperature fluctuation acclimation treatments to better understand the variability of physiological traits, which predict ecological and evolutionary responses to global change.

Interacting stressors and the potential for adaptation in a changing world: responses of populations and individuals

To accurately predict the impact of environmental change, it is necessary to assay effects of key interacting stressors on vulnerable organisms, and the potential resiliency of their populations. Yet, for the most part, these critical data are missing. We examined the effects of two common abiotic stressors predicted to interact with climate change, salinity and temperature, on the embryonic survival and development of a model freshwater vertebrate, the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa) from different populations. We found that salinity and temperature significantly interacted to affect newt embryonic survival and development, with the negative effects of salinity most pronounced at temperature extremes. We also found significant variation among, and especially within, populations, with different females varying in the performance of their eggs at different salinity-temperature combinations, possibly providing the raw material for future natural selection. Our results highlight the complex nature of predicting responses to climate change in space and time, and provide critical data towards that aim.

Interactions between a small chronic increase in diel water temperature and exposure to a common environmental contaminant on development of Arizona tiger salamander larvae

Global climate change leading to increased temperatures may affect shifts in physiological processes especially in ectothermic organisms. Temperature-dependent shifts in developmental rate in particular, may lead to life-long changes in adult morphology and physiology. Combined with anthropogenic changes in the chemical environment, changes in developmental outcomes may affect adult functionality. The purpose of this study is to determine 1) if small increases in diel water temperature affect the development of Arizona tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum) larvae, and 2) if this change interacts with exposure to the common environmental thyroid disrupting compound, perchlorate. Larvae between Watson and Russell developmental stages 8-13 were exposed to ammonium perchlorate (AP) at doses of 0, 20 or 200ppb and then raised at either ambient or a 0.9°C elevated above ambient temperature for 81days in outdoor enclosures. During the first 5 treatment weeks, AP treatment induced slower development and smaller snout-vent length (SVL) of exposed larvae, but only in the elevated temperature group. During the later stages of development, the small increase in temperature, regardless of AP treatment, tended to decrease the time to metamorphosis and resulted in a significantly smaller body mass and worse body condition. Our results suggest that even small diel water temperature increases can affect the developmental process of salamanders and this shift in the water temperature may interact with a common environmental contaminant.

The deal with diel: Temperature fluctuations, asymmetrical warming, and ubiquitous metals contaminants

Climate projections over the next century include disproportionately warmer nighttime temperatures ("asymmetrical warming"). Cool nighttime temperatures lower metabolic rates of aquatic ectotherms. In contaminated waters, areas with cool nights may provide thermal refugia from high rates of daytime contaminant uptake. We exposed Cope's gray tree frogs (Hyla chrysoscelis), southern leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus), and spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) to five concentrations of a mixture of cadmium, copper, and lead under three to four temperature regimes, representing asymmetrical warming. At concentrations with intermediate toxicosis at test termination (96 h), temperature effects on acute toxicity or escape distance were evident in all study species. Asymmetrical warming (day:night, 22:20 °C; 22:22 °C) doubled or tripled mortality relative to overall cooler temperatures (20:20 °C) or cool nights (22:18 °C). Escape distances were 40-70% shorter under asymmetrical warming. Results suggest potentially grave ecological impacts from unexpected toxicosis under climate change.

Physiological responses of ectotherms to daily temperature variation

Daily thermal fluctuations (DTFs) impact the capacity of ectotherms to maintain performance and energetic demands because of thermodynamic effects on physiological processes. Mechanisms that reduce the thermal sensitivity of physiological traits may buffer ectotherms from the consequences of DTFs. Species that experience varying degrees of DTFs in their environments may differ in their responses to thermally variable conditions, if thermal performance curves reflect environmental conditions. We tested the hypothesis that in response to DTFs, tadpoles from habitats characterised by small DTFs would show greater plasticity in the thermal sensitivity of physiological processes than tadpoles from environments characterised by large DTFs. We tested the thermal sensitivity of physiological traits in tadpoles of three species that differ naturally in their exposure to DTFs, raised in control (24°C) and DTF treatments (20-30°C and 18-38°C). DTFs reduced growth in all species. Development of tadpoles experiencing DTFs was increased for tadpoles from highly thermally variable habitats (∼15%), and slower in tadpoles from less thermally variable habitats (∼30%). In general, tadpoles were unable to alter the thermal sensitivity of physiological processes, although DTFs induced plasticity in metabolic enzyme activity in all species, although to a greater extent in species from less thermally variable environments. DTFs increased upper thermal limits in all species (between 0.89 and 1.6°C). Our results suggest that the impact of increased thermal variability may favour some species while others are negatively impacted. Species that cannot compensate for increased variability by buffering growth and development will probably be most affected.