Water Velocity Tolerance in Tadpoles of the Foothill Yellow-legged Frog (Rana boylii): Swimming Performance, Growth, and Survival

Kupferberg, Sarah J.; Lind, Amy J.; Thill, Vanessa; Yarnell, S. M.

doi:10.1643/ch-10-035

Cited by 27 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…With a life history strategy tied to the natural seasonal flow fluctuations common to the Montane-Mediterranean climate of wet winters and dry summers, their egg masses and tadpoles are especially vulnerable to aseasonal pulsed flows (Yarnell et al, 2012). Late spring and summer pulsed flows may cause entrainment, scour, or long periods of sheltering within the benthos, which results in decreased size, later metamorphosis, and increased predation (Kupferberg et al, 2011).…”

Section: Pulsed Flow Effects On Abiotic and Biotic Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulsed Flow Wave Attenuation on a Regulated Montane River

Fong

Yarnell

Viers

2015

River Research & Apps

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This study investigated the effects of hydrograph shape on attenuation of regulated pulsed flow events below a hydropower dam by categorizing and modelling the downstream movement of representative pulses on the upper Tuolumne River in the Sierra Nevadas of California, USA. We extracted underlying hydrograph shape patterns using principal component analysis on individual pulsed flow events released from 1988 to 2012 (n = 4439). From principal component loadings, six shape categories were determined: rectangular, front‐step, back‐step, goalpost, centred tower, and other. Attenuation of representative pulses from each shape type was then modelled using a one‐dimensional hydraulic model of 42 river km. Model results demonstrated a durational threshold for representative pulses (~3–5 h) over which the degree of attenuation of ramping rates and peak discharge approached a limit. Simulations of front and back‐step representative pulses showed trade‐offs between attenuation of peak magnitudes and steepness of rising ramping rates. Reshaping pulses to reduce the adverse ecological effects of rapid changes in stage and velocity downstream was infeasible if the system was required to maintain current electricity production and recreational service levels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Pulsed Flow Effects On Abiotic and Biotic Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulsed Flow Wave Attenuation on a Regulated Montane River

Fong

Yarnell

Viers

2015

River Research & Apps

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“…These factors along with the increased fitness associated with large body size may explain why frog populations attained large numbers only among Habitat Group C that was characterised by warmer summer temperatures. Over-wintering as tadpoles, which could be an effective life-history strategy to bypass these time constraints, has never been observed in R. boylii and the tadpoles lack morphological adaptations to survive high flow velocity conditions (Kupferberg, Lind, Thill, & Yarnell, 2011). Thermal gradient Trial 1 tested individuals (n = 210) from common sources of eggs translocated and reared in flow-through stream enclosures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in thermal niche of a declining river‐breeding frog: From counter‐gradient responses to population distribution patterns

Catenazzi

Kupferberg

2017

Freshwater Biology

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When dams or climate change alter the thermal regimes of rivers, conditions can shift outside optimal ranges for aquatic poikilothermic vertebrates. Plasticity in thermal performance and preference, however, may allow temperature‐vulnerable fauna to persist under challenging conditions. To determine the effects of thermal regime on Rana boylii (Ranidae), a threatened frog species endemic to rivers of California and Oregon, we quantified tadpole thermal preferences and performance in relation to thermal conditions. We monitored temperature and censused populations across a coastal to inland cline in six catchments where dams have altered thermal environments in close proximity to river reaches with natural conditions. We found geographic variation in population distribution and abundance based on river size combined with water temperature. The large inland rivers that supported breeding frogs, although cooler in spring due to snowmelt, became warmer during the summer than occupied coastal sites. Inland populations were constrained to reaches where the average temperature over the warmest 30 days ranged from 17.6 to 24.2°C, higher than coastal rainfall‐driven systems where averages ranged from 15.7 to 22.0°C. Frogs in rivers with hypolimnetic‐release dams bred in colder waters than they did in free‐flowing rivers. Common‐garden and field translocation experiments revealed local adaptations in larval growth and phenotypically plastic thermoregulatory behaviour. Tadpoles from all rivers had a positive linear growth response to temperature, but individuals from inland rivers displayed intrinsically higher growth rates. Consistent with a counter‐gradient model of selection in which the response to temperature change is in the opposite direction of the change, individuals from cooler rivers selected warmer temperatures. When reared under common conditions, however, tadpoles showed similar temperature preferences regardless of source river. Our results suggest a role for local growth rate adaptation in structuring the distribution of Rana boylii. Plastic thermoregulatory behaviour by tadpoles may explain how small populations are able to persist where dams release cold water. Management of edgewater habitats to increase the availability of warm micro‐sites may ameliorate this impact.

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“…From 2004 to 2013, researchers and stu dents from 50 different institutions, including 19 California colleges and univer sities, and 28 outside of California, with an average of 1571 userdays per year, used Angelo. Mapping, monitoring, and experimental field manipulations within the reserve over the past 25 years have documented the foodweb ecology dur ing summer low flow and biogeochemical dynamics along the upper South Fork Eel River and twelve of its tributaries, including Elder Creek (Power et al, 2008(Power et al, , 2009Finlay et al, 2002Finlay et al, , 2011Kupferberg et al, 2011;Sabo and Power, 2002a,b;Suttle et al, 2004Suttle et al, , 2007Wootton et al, 1996). Among many findings, this work has identified a drainage area or networkbased dependency in many ecosystem attributes, including totaldissolved nitrogen, algae abundance and taxonomic dis tribution, salmonid densities and energy sources, and aquatic insect emergence.…”

Section: Angelo Coast Range Reservementioning

confidence: 99%