A key goal of ecology and evolution is to understand the relative contributions of environment and history in determining the geographic distribution of organisms. For the Neotropical lowlands, where temperatures are similar across landscapes, we hypothesize that water balance may be a critical but understudied factor in determining the distribution of species. Amphibians are especially sensitive to variation in precipitation due to their permeable skin. Here we focused on lowland frogs of northwestern South America and investigated variation among 17 species in potentially important ecologically relevant performance variables related to water balance, testing for possible adaptations to semiarid conditions within species. We studied frogs from coastal xeric, savannah, and wet forest biomes under common laboratory conditions and quantified rates of evaporative water loss, rates of water uptake, and variation in water-searching behavior and performance. We found significant differences in all three performance variables among species even after accounting for shared evolutionary history. A phylogenetic ANCOVA showed that categorizing species by ecological habit (terrestrial vs. arboreal) explained much of the ecoperformance trait variation among species. Secondarily, environment explained additional variation; for example, coastal xeric species showed reduced rates of water loss, and terrestrial savannah amphibians showed lower rates of water uptake. Conspecific frog populations from different biomes exhibited similar performance. We compare our results with previous studies and conclude that ecological habit is the principle factor that predicts ecophysiological trait variation and the possible geographic distribution of lowland Neotropical frogs.
BackgroundUrban agriculture has been shown to contribute to healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as increased fruit and vegetable intake and greater exposure to greenspaces and there is plenty of evidence linking these lifestyle behaviors to better health and wellbeing. However, most evidence relates to assessing one behavior at a time despite available epidemiological research showing how the combined effects of multiple behaviors are associated with health and wellbeing. This research aims to examine the association of the interactions between various lifestyle behaviors and exposures related to urban agriculture and health and wellbeing.MethodsWe used data from the UK Biobank baseline questionnaire (N~500, 000) to assess the association of two lifestyle behaviors (fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity) and greenspace exposure, with four health and wellbeing markers (blood pressure, BMI, self-health assessment, and self-reported loneliness) independently, and in combination. Associations between lifestyle behaviors, greenspace exposure, and the possible interactions with health and wellbeing were explored using general linear models (GLMs), adjusted for socio-demographic confounders including age, sex, educational qualifications, index of multiple deprivation, and ethnicity, and a lifestyle confounder: smoking status.ResultsAfter removing missing data, as well as participants who did not meet the inclusion criteria, the final study sample was n = 204,478. The results indicate that meeting recommended levels of the World Health Organization (WHO) for fruits and vegetable intake, and the advice from the UK Chief Medical Officer for physical activity, is linked to better health and wellbeing markers. We found that UK Biobank participants who lived in greener areas and were physically active were more likely to feel alone and think their health was poor. Participants who were physically active and met the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables were more likely to have healthy blood pressure, feel less lonely, and rate their health as good. Evidence of three-way interactions was weak, and mostly was not associated with the health and wellbeing markers assessed here.ConclusionTaken in combination, healthy diets, physical activity and exposure to greenspaces are associated with health and wellbeing. In some cases, these effects are synergistic, indicating associations above and beyond the mere additive effect of the behaviors considered independently. Promoting such behaviors together, for example, through urban agriculture, is therefore more likely to generate greater public health changes than if they are promoted through independent policies and programs. Inter-relationships between these pathways and different health and wellbeing markers, however, are complex, and require further investigation to understand optimal environments and conditions for urban health promotion.
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