Journal
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
Volume 209, Issue -, Pages 98-106Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2017.02.013
Keywords
Amphibian; Roads; De-icing road salt; Local adaptation; Stress; Corticosterone
Funding
- National Science Foundation [DEB 1011335, BCS 1134687]
- Mianus River Gorge Preserve Research Assistantship Program
- Yale Carpenter/Sperry/Mellon Fund
- Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies
- Hixon Center for Urban Ecology
- American Museum of Natural History Theodore Roosevelt Fund
- Federated Garden Club of Connecticut
- Leopold Schepp Foundation
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Aquatic organisms living adjacent to roads face many challenges posed by exposure to toxic runoff. The use of de-icing road salt across northern latitudes has salinized nearby freshwater habitats. Freshwater amphibians exposed to road salt at early life stages typically experience reduced survival; however, few studies address later life effects. One study investigating whether populations can adapt to roadside ponds found survival in wood frog embryos raised in roadside environments was lowest in individuals with parents from roadside ponds. We investigated whether this negative response is also exhibited in late larval stages in reciprocally transplanted individuals from roadside populations and those located away from roads ('woodland' populations). We found reduced growth rates and more variable developmental rates in larvae raised in roadside ponds relative to woodland ponds regardless of origin, but no difference in survival between rearing environments. Laboratory exposure to road salt at relevant concentrations (0.6 ppt salinity) reduced larval activity and foraging behaviors, which may explain slower growth observed in the transplant experiment. Physiological assays of adult males migrating to breed revealed increased water retention in roadside populations. Further, these bloated males exhibited elevated resting plasma corticosterone levels and reduced capacity to secrete corticosterone when stimulated. Potential fitness consequences, such as reduced longevity and fecundity post metamorphosis through adulthood, of the roadside habitat could affect wood frog demography. Taken together, we provide evidence that the conditions experienced in the roadside environment pose challenges across life stages that have implications for persistence if populations are challenged with further stressors. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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