INVESTIGADORES
JARA fabian Gaston
artículos
Título:
Adaptive plasticity of life-history traits to pond drying in three species of Patagonian anurans
Autor/es:
PEROTTI, M G; JARA, F G; ÚBEDA, C A
Revista:
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY RESEARCH
Editorial:
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY LTD
Referencias:
Año: 2011 vol. 13 p. 415 - 429
ISSN:
1522-0613
Resumen:
Question: Does pond permanency affect life history traits of endemic anurans from Patagonia? Background: Amphibians inhabiting North Patagonia breed at ponds that strongly differ on their water permanency. The role of phenotypic plasticity in adapting to variable environments could be fundamental in these Patagonian anurans. Prediction: By comparisons between populations and between species, we predicted that size at metamorphosis and developmental time of three endemic anurans from Patagonia are adaptive traits when these species are exposed to the selective pressure of pond drying. Organism: Pleurodema thaul, Pleurodema bufoninum and Rhinella spinulosa, the most common species of amphibians in North Patagonia, breed and develop in a gradient of environmental scenarios that include ponds with highly heterogeneous hydroperiods. Methods: We recorded age and size at metamorphosis of larvae and metamorphs in 15 natural ponds. To analyze the effect of the hydroperiod on these traits we performed common garden experiments by simulating two different water volumes. Results and conclusion: The anurans responded to the selective pressure of drying environments by reducing size and time to metamorphosis. These responses were also evident in laboratory experiments. Wetlands with shorter hydroperiods have shorter larval periods and smaller metamorphs. Rhinella spinulosa developed faster at the decreasing water treatment, but its metamorphs did not differ in size in either treatment. The two Pleurodema species also developed faster at the decreasing water treatment, and metamorphs reaching smaller sizes at the decreasing volume treatment. Pleurodema species showed strong evidence of adaptive significance of these traits by the results of comparisons between populations.