Relationship between Behavioral Thermoregulation and Physiological Function in Larval Stream Salamanders

Strickland, Justin C.; Pinheiro, Ana; Cecala, Kristen K.; Dorcas, Michael E.

doi:10.1670/15-028

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Observations regarding thermal biology of the Mediterranean salamander genus Lyciasalamandra suggest a clear preference for temperatures below 20 °C. A similar preference for relatively low body temperatures has been observed in other Mediterranean urodele species inhabiting similar macroclimates [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. This may be an important mechanism for survival of Mediterranean salamanders, since cooler temperatures coincide with refugia that provide sufficient humidity to survive the hot and dry summer.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Landscape Connectivity Limits the Predicted Impact of Fungal Pathogen Invasion

Martel

Bogaerts³

et al. 2020

JoF

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Infectious diseases are major drivers of biodiversity loss. The risk of fungal diseases to the survival of threatened animals in nature is determined by a complex interplay between host, pathogen and environment. We here predict the risk of invasion of populations of threatened Mediterranean salamanders of the genus Lyciasalamandra by the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans by combining field sampling and lab trials. In 494 samples across all seven species of Lyciasalamandra, B. salamandrivorans was found to be absent. Single exposure to a low (1000) number of fungal zoospores resulted in fast buildup of lethal infections in three L. helverseni. Thermal preference of the salamanders was well within the thermal envelope of the pathogen and body temperatures never exceeded the fungus’ thermal critical maximum, limiting the salamanders’ defense opportunities. The relatively low thermal host preference largely invalidates macroclimatic based habitat suitability predictions and, combined with current pathogen absence and high host densities, suggests a high probability of local salamander population declines upon invasion by B. salamandrivorans. However, the unfavorable landscape that shaped intraspecific host genetic diversity, lack of known alternative hosts and rapid host mortality after infection present barriers to further, natural pathogen dispersal between populations and thus species extinction. The risk of anthropogenic spread stresses the importance of biosecurity in amphibian habitats.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Landscape Connectivity Limits the Predicted Impact of Fungal Pathogen Invasion

Martel

Bogaerts³

et al. 2020

JoF

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“…Amphibians are highly sensitive to changes in environmental variables such as temperature and humidity (Buckley and Jetz 2007;Wells 2007;Tracy et al 2012). One mechanism by which amphibians can respond to these changes is across behavioral regulation to optimize physiological processes associated with survival activities (Strickland et al 2016). In this study, the salamander Bolitoglossa ramosi selected both a high temperature (28.4°C) and a high relative humidity (92%) when this option was offered in the same gradient, which could be explained because both high temperature and high relative humidity increase the physiological performance in amphibians (Preest and Pough 2003;Kingsolver and Huey 2008;Köhler et al 2011;Titon and Gomes 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the contrary, the thermal preference of B. ramosi for high temperatures is not linked to its low and narrow microhabitat temperatures. It is unknown if this thermal preference might be related to its physiological maxima, as reported in larval stream salamanders (Strickland et al 2016), or because species select D r a f t temperatures at which metabolic function is optimized when given the choice (Huey and Bennett 1987;Angilletta et al 2006). The information on thermal physiology is increasingly used to understand the species responses to environmental changes (Lunghi et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both conditions, body temperature and hydric state, are known to strongly affect the physiological and behavioral performance of amphibians (Jørgensen 1997;Navas et al 2008;Anderson and Andrade 2017). Amphibians are able to thermoregulate behaviorally to maintain their body temperatures into a preferred range where the biological activities can be carried out successfully (Hutchison and Dupré 1992;O'Connor and Tracy 1992;Raske et al 2012;Balogová and Gvoždík 2015;Strickland et al 2016). On the other hand, they avoid excessive water loss by selecting microhabitats that allow the animals to balance water loss with water uptake, or to limit activity to periods with favorable conditions (Wells 2007;Winters and Gifford 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of the combined temperature and relative humidity preferences of the Colombian terrestrial salamanderBolitoglossa ramosi(Amphibia: Plethodontidae)

2018

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Temperature and humidity are critical factors for terrestrial lungless salamanders, as their body temperatures are largely determined by the environmental temperature and require moisture to sustain cutaneous respiration. Herein, we evaluated the preference of Bolitoglossa ramosi Brame and Wake, 1972 between a high temperature and a high relative humidity (RH), the influence of temperature on RH preferences, and the influence of RH on the thermal preferences. This study was performed in a field location in the municipality of Líbano, Tolima, Colombia. There, on different nights, we collected 84 adult B. ramosi and carried out the preference experiments, using aluminum troughs with different thermal and RH gradients. We found that between high temperature and high RH, B. ramosi preferred high RH. However, B. ramosi selected high temperatures when the gradient had a high RH and low temperatures when the gradient had a low RH. These results show that B. ramosi is able to thermoregulate and hydroregulate. Nevertheless, hydroregulation seems to be more important than thermoregulation because B. ramosi always selected the high RH gradients, while their thermal selection relied on the hydric environment.

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“…Secondly, despite limited sample sizes at current and future temperatures, D. conanti grew similarly if not better at elevated temperatures suggesting that their interaction strength on D. abditus was likely to remain similar regardless of temperature. Desmognathus conanti also has a large geographical and altitudinal range that implies that they may be more tolerant of warmer temperatures (Bernardo et al, 2007;Strickland et al, 2016). Similarly for terrestrial salamanders, a recent field study found that distributions and genetic contributions of a lower elevation species are expanding, while the distribution of the previously competitively superior high elevation species is contracting (Walls, 2009; but see Connette et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated temperatures alter competitive outcomes and body condition in southern Appalachian salamanders

Liles

Cecala

Ennen

et al. 2017

Animal Conservation

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Temperature elevation due to climate change is directly altering organismal performance and distributions, but the mechanisms behind these shifts require additional attention. Because small aquatic ectotherms are proposed to perform better at future climates, it is possible that competitive interactions in size-structured communities may also shift. To study the interactive effects of climate and competition on species performance, we evaluated body condition of small and large desmognathan salamanders at current and elevated temperatures in stream mesocosms, and characterized habitat use. In situ evaluation of capture locations demonstrated that the widespread and larger species, Desmognathus conanti, competitively excludes the smaller more narrowly distributed, D. abditus, from stream centers and cooler temperatures, but ex situ mesocosm experiments indicated an interaction between temperature and intra-versus inter-specific competition on D. abditus body condition. At current temperatures, D. abditus body condition increased in the presence of the larger D. conanti, but at elevated temperatures, D. abditus body condition tended to decline in the presence of the larger species relative to intraspecific competitors. We also noted that individuals at future temperatures prioritized growth differently than individuals at current temperatures by shifting allocations away from growth in length to growth in mass consistent with responses of other organisms to stressful conditions that could result in declining reproductive rates. This study demonstrates that processes in size-structured communities may interact with temperature to affect species' future success. 502Animal Conservation 20 (2017) 502-510 ª

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Relationship between Behavioral Thermoregulation and Physiological Function in Larval Stream Salamanders

Cited by 13 publications

References 41 publications

Landscape Connectivity Limits the Predicted Impact of Fungal Pathogen Invasion

Landscape Connectivity Limits the Predicted Impact of Fungal Pathogen Invasion

Evaluation of the combined temperature and relative humidity preferences of the Colombian terrestrial salamanderBolitoglossa ramosi(Amphibia: Plethodontidae)

Elevated temperatures alter competitive outcomes and body condition in southern Appalachian salamanders

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