AMPHIBIANS OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS: HABITAT AND THE IMPACTS OF TEMPERATURE AND pH ON SURVIVAL

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2013-05

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Global climate change has had an increasing role in the decline of amphibian populations due to direct (e.g. critical temperature thresholds) and indirect (e.g. temperature stress, spreading of disease, and habitat alteration and loss) effects of increasing atmospheric temperature. Due to the complexity of habitats needed to complete all of their life stages, amphibians are subject to stressors through a number of systems (e.g., water quality, climatic characteristics, and terrestrial habitat). Furthermore, habitat currently used by amphibians may become inhospitable due to indirect stressing effects of increased temperatures projected for the Southern Great Plains (SGP). To protect and manage for species at risk, we must first understand their basic community assemblages, distributions, habitat associations, and tolerances. Because little amphibian research has come from northeastern New Mexico, collecting data on these parameters will be a useful tool for future research and management in this area. The objectives of this study were to: (1) examine amphibian species presence, richness, an index of reproductive success, and larval growth in northeastern New Mexico and relate them to site-specific and landscape-level habitat characteristics and (2) identify environmental factors that may jeopardize population persistence in the future. After conducting field work, I determined an additional objective based on the current average high temperature (28.3°C) and pH ranges (4.9 to 9.4) I recorded: (3) to determine the effect of a 5.6°C increase in average summer temperature by 2090 (to 33.9°C) due to climate change on embryo and tadpole survival, the effects of pH 4.9 and 9.4 on embryo and tadpole survival, and the effects of the interactions between pH and temperature on embryo and tadpole survival. Over 2011 and 2012, I sampled each playa wetland 5 times over a 17-day sampling period after precipitation of >2cm using call, visual encounter, egg mass, dip net, and funnel trap surveys to examine the amphibian community. I also collected tadpole measurements throughout development to examine larval growth patterns. Water quality was sampled during each survey, and ArcMap was employed to determine landscape-level habitat features. I sampled 14 playa wetlands in northeastern New Mexico, detecting 7 amphibian species with a maximum species richness per playa of 4. I detected reproduction in 4-6 species (as Pelobatid tadpoles are difficult to identify to species), and larval growth in Anaxyrus cognatus, Pseudacris clarkii, and Pelobatid spp. was exponential up to age 17 days (all p < 0.01). I also documented the first New Mexico state record of Pseudacris clarkii (spotted chorus frog). Although I did not document any statistically significant associations between amphibian species presence, richness, or reproductive success and habitat characteristics, I observed a trend of no P. clarkii reproduction at the acidic sites (4.9-6.9) even though adults were present in playa wetlands with pH 4.9-9.4. Based on my field observations about amphibian natural history from 2011, I hypothesized that increased temperature due to global climate change in 2090 may influence the ability of anurans to survive in pH-stressed playas. I tested these hypotheses in the lab in order to strengthen my field-based inferences. In 2012, I performed a fully-factorial laboratory experiment using the 2011 pH extremes (4.9 and 9.4), 2011 current average temperature (28.3°C), and 2090 projected temperature (33.9°C ), with embryos from 3 pairs of wild-caught P. clarkii. The results of my experiment suggest that P. clarkii cannot successfully reproduce in water with high temperature (33.9°C), regardless of the pH conditions. Furthermore, survival to metamorphosis in acidic conditions (pH 4.9), regardless of temperature, is unlikely, findings consistent with both my field observations and laboratory results. Survival to metamorphosis in basic conditions (pH 9.4) is very low (9%), compared to survival at pH 7 (84 %) that other studies have documented. Based on my findings, an increase in summer temperature of 5.6°C over the next 70 years will likely cause mortality and extirpation of some amphibian species in the Southern Great Plains. My results demonstrate the threat to P. clarkii due to projected climate change and suggest that other amphibian species may also be vulnerable, particularly for anuran populations that are at the edge of their range such as Gastrophryne olivaea, a New Mexico state-endangered species. By combining field and laboratory techniques and coming to a similar conclusion, I have been able to provide conclusions about the effect of temperature and pH on amphibian survival and population persistence.

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