Invasive frogs show persistent physiological differences to elevation and acclimate 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:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103590

Cited by 3 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…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%

“…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.…”

mentioning

confidence: 60%

“…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: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…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%

See 4 more Smart Citations

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

Marchetti,

French,

Virgin

et al. 2023

J Exp Zool Pt A

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

mentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

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

Marchetti,

French,

Virgin

et al. 2023

J Exp Zool Pt A

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Invading new climates at what cost? Ontogenetic differences in the thermal dependence of metabolic rate in an invasive amphibian

Padilla,

Herrel,

Denoël

2024

Journal of Thermal Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fortune may favor the flexible: Environment-dependent behavioral shifts in invasive coquí frogs

Soto,

Edmonds,

Colton

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biological invasions are a major driver of global biodiversity loss, impacting endemic species, ecosystems, and economies. As invasive species introductions continue to rise, addressing their impact has become a priority for conservation management. While the influence of life history traits on invasive success is well-established, the role of behavior remains an evolving area of research. The coquí frog,Eleutherodactylus coqui, an invasive species in Hawai’i, serves as an ideal model for studying the role of behavior, complementing previous research on its physiology, morphology, and the environmental factors that drive its invasive success. We examined behavior in the field across ecological gradients of population density and elevation. We observed that variations in exploratory behavior and activity were influenced by an interaction between density and elevation. Additionally, we evaluated behavior following prolonged acclimation to a novel lab environment. We found widespread plasticity in boldness, exploration, and activity, with all behaviors decreasing in the lab. In contrast, we observed consistent correlations between exploratory behavior and activity, both in the field and lab. The persistence of these correlations across environmental contexts highlights the potential for predicting behavioral responses of invasive species in novel environments. Lastly, we investigated the relationship between resting metabolic rate and behavior in the lab. We found positive correlations between resting metabolic rate and behavior, expanding our understanding of the interactions between physiology, behavior, and ecological influences. Taken together, our results suggest that behavior may be predicted based on a combination of environmental and physiological responses.

show abstract

Invasive frogs show persistent physiological differences to elevation and acclimate to colder temperatures

Cited by 3 publications

References 66 publications

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

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

Invading new climates at what cost? Ontogenetic differences in the thermal dependence of metabolic rate in an invasive amphibian

Fortune may favor the flexible: Environment-dependent behavioral shifts in invasive coquí frogs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About