Climate‐associated decline of body condition in a fossorial salamander

Moldowan, Patrick D.; Tattersall, Glenn J.; Rollinson, Njal

doi:10.1111/gcb.15766

Cited by 10 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 118 publications

(129 reference statements)

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“…Our study measured the consequences for salamanders from a single pond; therefore, our findings may not represent the consequences for populations locally adapted to warmer or cooler ponds. However, a recent observational study in a closely related species ( Ambystoma maculatum ) found results consistent with ours; a slight increase in summer temperature significantly explained, in part, a decline in body condition in adults over 12 years, but temperature did not explain the variation in reproductive output (Moldowan et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Experimental warming reduces body mass but not reproductive investment

Lackey

Whiteman

2022

Ecology

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Climate change has already had wide‐ranging effects on populations, including shifts in species' ranges, phenology, and body size. Whereas some common patterns have emerged, the direction and magnitude of responses vary extensively among populations as well as across life stages within populations. Understanding the consequences of climate change and predicting future responses at the population level require experimental tests of how warmer temperatures affect life history traits, including growth rate, development time, and reproductive output. Here, we tested how experimental warming affected life history from larval development and survival to adult reproductive maturity and investment in mole salamanders, Ambystoma talpoideum. We found that a small temperature increase (~1°C) experienced during larval development had complex consequences: density‐dependent effects on growth and body mass, density‐independent effects on fat storage, and no effects on survival and reproductive investment. Although warming reduced growth rates, size at maturity, and fat storage, salamanders in both warmed and control conditions had similar survival and reproductive investment in their first year. However, costs of smaller body size and lower fat reserves may limit overwintering survival and/or future reproduction. Our study highlights the differential effects of warming across life history traits and multifaceted population responses to climate change. This work motivates future studies to examine variation in response to climate change across life stages and life history traits.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Experimental warming reduces body mass but not reproductive investment

Lackey

Whiteman

2022

Ecology

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“…While the sensitivity of amphibians to climate change is well‐documented and many species are predicted to endure negative fitness consequences (e.g. Caruso et al, 2015; Moldowan et al, 2021; Reading, 2007), animal responses to climate change are highly trait‐dependent (Pacifici et al, 2017). Even though trait‐based studies indicate that climate change will favour certain life history strategies, we lack an understanding of how climate change will alter the specific mechanisms that maintain the trade‐offs underlying life history diversity (Both & Visser, 2005; Lancaster et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, we focus on two fitness parameters linked to amphibian life history that are impacted by climate: breeding state and body condition. Breeding and phenology are well established as being linked to temperature and precipitation (Ficetola & Maiorano, 2016; Reading, 1998; Todd et al, 2011), while numerous studies have documented climate‐induced increases and decreases of population‐level body size (Caruso et al, 2015; Moldowan et al, 2021; Reading, 2007). However, very little is known about how climate mechanisms influence fitness trade‐offs, and whether climate mechanisms are responsible for maintaining phenotypic diversity and polyphenisms (Merilä & Hendry, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of environmental variation in mediating fitness trade‐offs for an amphibian polyphenism

Kirk

Reider

Lackey

et al. 2023

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Fitness trade‐offs are a foundation of ecological and evolutionary theory because trade‐offs can explain life history variation, phenotypic plasticity, and the existence of polyphenisms. Using a 32‐year mark‐recapture dataset on lifetime fitness for 1093 adult Arizona tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum) from a high elevation, polyphenic population, we evaluated the extent to which two life history morphs (aquatic paedomorphs vs. terrestrial metamorphs) exhibited fitness trade‐offs in breeding and body condition with respect to environmental variation (e.g. climate) and internal state‐based variables (e.g. age). Both morphs displayed a similar response to higher probabilities of breeding during years of high spring precipitation (i.e. not indicative of a morph‐specific fitness trade‐off). There were likely no climate‐induced fitness trade‐offs on breeding state for the two life history morphs because precipitation and water availability are vital to amphibian reproduction. Body condition displayed a contrasting response for the two morphs that was indicative of a climate‐induced fitness trade‐off. While metamorphs exhibited a positive relationship with summer snowpack conditions, paedomorphs were unaffected. Fitness trade‐offs from summer snowpack are likely due to extended hydroperiods in temporary ponds, where metamorphs gain a fitness advantage during the summer growing season by exploiting resources that are unavailable to paeodomorphs. However, paedomorphs appear to have the overwintering fitness advantage because they consistently had higher body condition than metamorphs at the start of the summer growing season. Our results reveal that climate and habitat type (metamorphs as predominately terrestrial, paedomorphs as fully aquatic) interact to confer different advantages for each morph. These results advance our current understanding of fitness trade‐offs in this well‐studied polyphenic amphibian by integrating climate‐based mechanisms. Our conclusions prompt future studies to explore how climatic variation can maintain polyphenisms and promote life history diversity, as well as the implications of climate change for polyphenisms.

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“…Our findings highlight the potential of individual response metrics in species monitoring and conservation. The explicit links between herpetofauna body condition, demographic impacts and population size remain understudied (Lannoo & Stiles, 2017; Moldowan et al, 2022; Reading, 2007) and more long‐term research is needed to assess these links. Moreover, research should simultaneously measure individual, population and community metrics to assess how different response metrics relate to one another.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Future Direc Tionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta‐analysis reveals impacts of disturbance on reptile and amphibian body condition

Macdonald

Driscoll

MacDonald³

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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Biodiversity is in a global crisis driven by habitat destruction, climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances (IPBES, 2019;Parmesan et al., 2022). It is estimated that up to 1 million species are at risk of extinction, with 25% of assessed species now classified as threatened (IPBES, 2019). These declines are exacerbated by increases in the extent and intensity of anthropogenic disturbances

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Climate‐associated decline of body condition in a fossorial salamander

Cited by 10 publications

References 118 publications

Experimental warming reduces body mass but not reproductive investment

Experimental warming reduces body mass but not reproductive investment

The role of environmental variation in mediating fitness trade‐offs for an amphibian polyphenism

Meta‐analysis reveals impacts of disturbance on reptile and amphibian body condition

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