Widespread rapid reductions in body size of adult salamanders in response to climate change

Caruso, Nicholas M.; Sears, Michael W.; Adams, Dean C.; Lips, Karen R.

doi:10.1111/gcb.12550

Cited by 186 publications

(198 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…Plethodontids are lungless salamanders that rely entirely on cutaneous respiration for gas exchange and water metabolism (Wells 2007). Therefore, they are particularly sensitive to environmental conditions that limit their above ground activities and influence also their metabolic intake (Caruso et al 2014). Actually, Warren and Bradford (2010) found similar negative correlations between the winter NAO and Desmognathus salamander abundance in the southern Appalachians.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Lagged influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on population dynamics of a Mediterranean terrestrial salamander

et al. 2015

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The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a largescale climatic pattern that strongly influences the atmospheric circulation in the northern Hemisphere and by consequence the long-term variability of marine and terrestrial ecosystem over great part of northern Europe and western Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean, the effects of the NAO on vertebrates has been studied mainly on bird populations but was rarely analysed in ectothermic animals, and in particular in amphibians. In this study, we investigated the relationships between winter, spring and summer NAO indexes and the long-term population dynamics of the plethodontid salamander Speleomantes strinatii. This terrestrial salamander was monitored inside an artificial cave in NW Italy for 24 consecutive years. The relationships between seasonal NAO indexes and the salamander dynamics were assessed by cross-correlation function (CCF) analysis, after prewhitening the time series by autoregressive moving average statistical modelling. Results of CCF analyses indicated that the salamander abundance varied in relation to the one-year ahead winter NAO (P= 0.018), while no relationships were found with spring and summer indexes. These results strengthen some previous findings that suggested a high sensitivity of temperate terrestrial amphibians to wintertime climatic conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Lagged influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on population dynamics of a Mediterranean terrestrial salamander

et al. 2015

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“…Other environmental properties such as long-term trends in temperature may have influenced salamander bacterial diversity (67), as both Catoctin MP and Mt. Rogers NRA have experienced higher rates of warming than Shenandoah NP (68).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antifungal Bacteria on Woodland Salamander Skin Exhibit High Taxonomic Diversity and Geographic Variability

Muletz‐Wolz

DiRenzo

Yarwood³

et al. 2017

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Diverse bacteria inhabit amphibian skin; some of those bacteria inhibit growth of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Yet there has been no systematic survey of anti-B. dendrobatidis bacteria across localities, species, and elevations. This is important given geographic and taxonomic variations in amphibian susceptibility to B. dendrobatidis. Our collection sites were at locations within the Appalachian Mountains where previous sampling had indicated low B. dendrobatidis prevalence. We determined the numbers and identities of anti-B. dendrobatidis bacteria on 61 Plethodon salamanders (37 P. cinereus, 15 P. glutinosus, 9 P. cylindraceus) via culturing methods and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We sampled co-occurring species at three localities and sampled P. cinereus along an elevational gradient (700 to 1,000 meters above sea level [masl]) at one locality. We identified 50 anti-B. dendrobatidis bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and found that the degree of B. dendrobatidis inhibition was not correlated with relatedness. Five anti-B. dendrobatidis bacterial strains occurred on multiple amphibian species at multiple localities, but none were shared among all species and localities. The prevalence of anti-B. dendrobatidis bacteria was higher at Shenandoah National Park (NP), VA, with 96% (25/26) of salamanders hosting at least one anti-B. dendrobatidis bacterial species compared to 50% (7/14) at Catoctin Mountain Park (MP), MD, and 38% (8/21) at Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area (NRA), VA. At the individual level, salamanders at Shenandoah NP had more anti-B. dendrobatidis bacteria per individual ( ϭ 3.3) than those at Catoctin MP ( ϭ 0.8) and at Mt. Rogers NRA ( ϭ 0.4). All salamanders tested negative for B. dendrobatidis. Anti-B. dendrobatidis bacterial species are diverse in central Appalachian Plethodon salamanders, and their distribution varied geographically. The antifungal bacterial species that we identified may play a protective role for these salamanders.IMPORTANCE Amphibians harbor skin bacteria that can kill an amphibian fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Some amphibians die from B. dendrobatidis infection, whereas others do not. The bacteria that can kill B. dendrobatidis, called anti-B. dendrobatidis bacteria, are thought to influence the B. dendrobatidis infection outcome for the amphibian. Yet how anti-B. dendrobatidis bacterial species vary among amphibian species and populations is unknown. We determined the distribution of anti-B. dendrobatidis bacterial species among three salamander species (n ϭ 61) sampled at three localities. We identified 50 unique anti-B. dendrobatidis bacterial species and found that all of the tested salamanders were negative for B. dendrobatidis. Five anti-B. dendrobatidis bacterial species were commonly detected, suggesting a stable, functional association with these salamanders. The number of

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“…For amphibians, the literature lacks direct evidence for evolution in response to anthropogenic climate change (Urban et al 2013); however, there are several examples of adaptations in response to climate along spatial gradients (Skelly and Freidenburg 2000, Gibbs and Karraker 2006, Orizaola et al 2010. Moreover, recent research suggests that reduced activity due to warming temperatures are linked to rapid reductions of body sizes in several species of plethodontids (Caruso et al 2014). By uncovering the geographic variation of R in these species, we demonstrated a previously unknown capacity of salamanders to modify physiology in response to changes in temperature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation of resistance to water loss within two species of lungless salamanders: implications for activity

Riddell

Sears

2015

Ecosphere

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Citation: Riddell, E. A., and M. W. Sears. 2015. Geographic variation of resistance to water loss within two species of lungless salamanders: implications for activity. Ecosphere 6(5):86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00360.1Abstract. For many organisms, constraints on activity increase energetic costs, which ultimately reduce the suitability of a particular habitat. Mechanistic species distribution models often use estimates of activity to predict how organisms will respond to climate change. These models couple physiology and morphology with climatic data to estimate potential activity. In turn, the duration of activity is used to estimate the energetic balance of individuals at a given location. Whether individuals remain in positive net energetic balance determines if a given location is suitable for the species. However, because these models often assume that physiology does not vary across the species range, estimates of activity (and consequently energetics) are potentially misleading. To test the consequence of this assumption, we measured total resistance to water loss (R) within two species of lungless salamanders (Plethodon metcalfi and P. teyahalee) collected from locations along their elevational extent in southwestern North Carolina. Because hydration state constrains the activity of salamanders, increasing R would increase potential activity. Here, we leveraged the natural changes in environmental conditions along an elevational gradient to determine if salamanders modify R in different environments. We predicted that salamanders collected from low elevations would have higher R to compensate for the warmer, drier conditions at low elevations that may limit activity. We determined R in the laboratory using a flow-through system at two temperatures (128C, 188C) and at three vapor pressure deficits (0.2 kPa, 0.35 kPa, 0.5 kPa). For P. metcalfi, individuals collected from low elevations exhibited the highest R, suggesting either acclimatization or adaptation to local conditions. For P. teyahalee, individuals collected from high elevations exhibited the highest R, but these results may reflect alternative pressures due to differences in behavior. The results also suggest that salamanders might use temperature as a cue to increase R, but the capacity to do so depends upon the temperatures experienced in nature. Moreover, we show that variation in R has the potential to alter the duration of activity over the elevational ranges of these species, illustrating the importance of incorporating geographic variation of physiological traits for predicting a species' response to climate.

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Widespread rapid reductions in body size of adult salamanders in response to climate change

Cited by 186 publications

References 47 publications

Lagged influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on population dynamics of a Mediterranean terrestrial salamander

Lagged influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on population dynamics of a Mediterranean terrestrial salamander

Antifungal Bacteria on Woodland Salamander Skin Exhibit High Taxonomic Diversity and Geographic Variability

Geographic variation of resistance to water loss within two species of lungless salamanders: implications for activity

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