Graduation Year
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.)
Degree Granting Department
Integrative Biology
Major Professor
Alison Gainsbury, Ph.D.
Co-Major Professor
Deby Cassill, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Stephen Deban, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Alessandro Catenazzi, Ph.D.
Keywords
evolutionary adaptation, amphibians, climate change, plasticity, urban heat islands
Abstract
Urbanization and climate warming have contributed to global amphibian declines in recent decades. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to climate and urban-induced warming because their physiological processes are dependent on temperature across all life stages, but few studies have been done on tadpole responses to warming in comparison to adult responses. The study objective was to determine how the thermal ecology and swimming performance of a native Florida tadpole varied with rearing temperature and urban level, and whether these traits are plastic or adaptive. We collected eggs from wild populations of pine woods treefrog (Dryophytes femoralis) tadpoles at an urban and suburban site in Central Florida and measured the impact of rearing temperature and urban level on following tadpole thermal ecology parameters of each individual: critical thermal maximum threshold, critical thermal minimum threshold, thermal safety margin, growth, thermal preference, swimming velocity, and optimal temperature. Critical thermal maximum, critical thermal minimum, and thermal safety margin differed by rearing temperature, indicating plasticity. Growth rate was impacted by the interaction between urban level, rearing temperature, and time, indicating this trait is plastic and adaptive. Interestingly, thermal preference, swimming performance, and optimal temperature appeared to be fixed traits, not impacted by urban level or rearing temperature. These results suggest that while some thermal ecology traits of D. femoralis tadpoles may plastically increase with increasing temperature, warming ponds may exceed optimal temperatures for traits like swimming, which may threaten tadpole performance.
Scholar Commons Citation
Aretz, Jessalyn, "Thermal Ecology and Swimming Performance of Native Tadpoles Dryophytes femoralis in Central Florida" (2024). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10163
