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Leaf litter resource quality induces morphological changes in wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) metamorphs

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

For organisms that exhibit complex life cycles, resource conditions experienced by individuals before metamorphosis can strongly affect phenotypes later in life. Such resource-induced effects are known to arise from variation in resource quantity, yet little is known regarding effects stemming from variation in resource quality (e.g., chemistry). For larval anurans, we hypothesized that variation in resource quality will induce a gradient of effects on metamorph morphology. We conducted an outdoor mesocosm experiment in which we manipulated resource quality by rearing larval wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) under 11 leaf litter treatments. The litter species represented plant species found in open- and closed-canopy wetlands and included many plant species of current conservation concern (e.g., green ash, common reed). Consistent with our hypothesis, we found a gradient of responses for nearly all mass-adjusted morphological dimensions. Hindlimb dimensions and gut mass were positively associated with litter nutrient content and decomposition rate. In contrast, forelimb length and head width were positively associated with concentrations of phenolic acids and dissolved organic carbon. Limb lengths and widths were positively related with the duration of larval period, and we discuss possible hormonal mechanisms underlying this relationship. There were very few, broad differences in morphological traits of metamorphs between open- and closed-canopy litter species or between litter and no-litter treatments. This suggests that the effects of litter on metamorph morphology are litter species-specific, indicating that the effects of changing plant community structure in and around wetlands will largely depend on plant species composition.

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Acknowledgments

We thank J. Bartkus, T. Campbell, J. Nett, B. Thompson, H. Greiner, L. Isaacs, and R. Coakley for help in sampling the mesocosms. We also thank E. Yates and C. Gammon for assistance in measuring morphological features. We would like to thank the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment for access to the field study site. This research was supported in part by an Oakland University Graduate Student Research Award to JPS, an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship award to ABS, an NSF award (IOS #1121529) to Tom Raffel, and an NSF award (DEB #11-19430) to RAR.

Author contribution statement

JPS, KAB, and SDT conceived and designed the experiment. JPS conducted the experiment. ABS and JPS equally contributed to the analysis of data and the writing of the manuscript. RAR provided the assistants and facilities to collect the morphological data, contributed to the analysis of data, and the writing of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Aaron B. Stoler, Jeffrey P. Stephens, Keith A. Berven & Scott D. Tiegs

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Rick A. Relyea

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, 2238 CBIS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th St., Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Aaron B. Stoler

Authors
  1. Aaron B. Stoler
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  2. Jeffrey P. Stephens
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  3. Rick A. Relyea
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  4. Keith A. Berven
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  5. Scott D. Tiegs
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Correspondence to Aaron B. Stoler.

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Communicated by Ross Andrew Alford.

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Stoler, A.B., Stephens, J.P., Relyea, R.A. et al. Leaf litter resource quality induces morphological changes in wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) metamorphs. Oecologia 179, 667–677 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3387-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3387-2

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