Invasive Frogs Show Persistent Elevational Differences and Acclimation to Colder Temperatures

Marchetti, Jack R.; Beard, Karen H.; Virgin, Emily E.; Lewis, E. L. V.; Hess, Steven C.; Ki, Kwanho C.; Sermersheim, Layne O.; Furtado, Adriana P.; French, Susannah S.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4374689

Cited by 1 publication

(4 citation statements)

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“…Frogs at high elevation were found closer to the forest floor, where ambient temperatures are warmer. Similar to a previous study that showed a positive relationship between glucose and elevation with coqui in Hawai'i (Marchetti et al, 2023), elevation appeared in our top models for glucose, which suggests that coqui frogs use glucose as a coping strategy against cold temperatures at high elevation. The positive relationship we observed between triglycerides and elevation suggests coqui use both energy metabolites to cope with suboptimal temperatures.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…However, glucose levels respond rapidly to environmental changes such as acute stress (French et al, 2022; Gangloff et al, 2017; Kelley et al, 2021; Romero & Beattie, 2022), and previous work has demonstrated that stress may mask inherent glucose differences among populations (Hudson, Lidgard, et al, 2020). In support of this idea, previous research by Marchetti et al (2023) found a strong positive relationship between elevation and glucose in coqui, but also that stress immediately after capture could obscure these results. It is likely that the stress of capture and being held between capture and taking blood samples may have resulted in fluctuations in glucose, diminishing basal population differences among elevations in this study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

“…Temperature can also influence the oxidative stress of ectotherms tied to elevated metabolism (Bury et al, 2018; Reguera et al, 2014; Souri & Rastegar‐Pouyani, 2018), which increases the demand for energy metabolites (French et al, 2021; Webb et al, 2019). Yet little research has been done to determine if glucose levels, oxidative stress, or energy metabolites in the coqui change in response to elevation and temperature, with an exception (Marchetti et al, 2023). In this previous study, we found evidence for persistent physiological differences (i.e., suggesting genetic differences), while other metrics were more plastic (Marchetti et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet little research has been done to determine if glucose levels, oxidative stress, or energy metabolites in the coqui change in response to elevation and temperature, with an exception (Marchetti et al, 2023). In this previous study, we found evidence for persistent physiological differences (i.e., suggesting genetic differences), while other metrics were more plastic (Marchetti et al, 2023). Furthermore, coqui may modify certain behavioral traits (e.g., use of substrates and vertical space) in response to temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invading nonnative frogs use different microhabitats and change physiology along an elevation gradient

Marchetti,

French,

Virgin

et al. 2023

J Exp Zool Pt A

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The coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) was introduced to the island of Hawai'i in the 1980s, and has spread across much of the island. There is concern they will invade higher elevation areas where negative impacts on native species are expected. It is not known if coqui change behavior and baseline physiology in ways that allow them to invade higher elevations. We investigated where coqui are found across the island and whether that includes recent invasion into higher elevations. We also investigated whether elevation is related to coqui's microhabitat use, including substrate use and height off the forest floor, and physiological metrics, including plasma osmolality, oxidative status, glucose, free glycerol, and triglycerides, that might be associated with invading higher elevations. We found coqui have increased the area they occupy along roads from 31% to 50% and have moved into more high‐elevation locations (16% vs. 1%) compared to where they were found 14 years ago. We also found frogs at high elevation on different substrates and closer to the forest floor than frogs at lower elevations—perhaps in response to air temperatures which tended to be warmer close to the forest floor. We observed that blood glucose and triglycerides increase in frogs with elevation. An increase in glucose is likely an acclimation response to cold temperatures while triglycerides may also help frogs cope with the energetic demands of suboptimal temperatures. Finally, we found that female coqui have higher plasma osmolality, reactive oxygen metabolites (dROMs), free glycerol, and triglycerides than males. Our study suggests coqui behavior and physiology in Hawai'i may be influenced by elevation in ways that allow them to cope with lower temperatures and invade higher elevations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%