Phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains: The importance of the elevation‐time axis
Abstract Critical thermal limits (CTmax and CTmin) decrease with elevation, with greater change in CTmin, and the risk to suffer heat and cold stress increasing at the gradient ends. A central prediction is that populations will adapt to the prevailing climatic conditions. Yet, reliable support for...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9349 |
| _version_ | 1811213100930564096 |
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| author | Luis Miguel Gutiérrez‐Pesquera Miguel Tejedo Agustín Camacho Urtzi Enriquez‐Urzelai Marco Katzenberger Magdalena Choda Pol Pintanel Alfredo G. Nicieza |
| author_facet | Luis Miguel Gutiérrez‐Pesquera Miguel Tejedo Agustín Camacho Urtzi Enriquez‐Urzelai Marco Katzenberger Magdalena Choda Pol Pintanel Alfredo G. Nicieza |
| author_sort | Luis Miguel Gutiérrez‐Pesquera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Critical thermal limits (CTmax and CTmin) decrease with elevation, with greater change in CTmin, and the risk to suffer heat and cold stress increasing at the gradient ends. A central prediction is that populations will adapt to the prevailing climatic conditions. Yet, reliable support for such expectation is scant because of the complexity of integrating phenotypic, molecular divergence and organism exposure. We examined intraspecific variation of CTmax and CTmin, neutral variation for 11 microsatellite loci, and micro‐ and macro‐temperatures in larvae from 11 populations of the Galician common frog (Rana parvipalmata) across an elevational gradient, to assess (1) the existence of local adaptation through a PST‐FST comparison, (2) the acclimation scope in both thermal limits, and (3) the vulnerability to suffer acute heat and cold thermal stress, measured at both macro‐ and microclimatic scales. Our study revealed significant microgeographic variation in CTmax and CTmin, and unexpected elevation gradients in pond temperatures. However, variation in CTmax and CTmin could not be attributed to selection because critical thermal limits were not correlated to elevation or temperatures. Differences in breeding phenology among populations resulted in exposure to higher and more variable temperatures at mid and high elevations. Accordingly, mid‐ and high‐elevation populations had higher CTmax and CTmin plasticities than lowland populations, but not more extreme CTmax and CTmin. Thus, our results support the prediction that plasticity and phenological shifts may hinder local adaptation, promoting thermal niche conservatism. This may simply be a consequence of a coupled variation of reproductive timing with elevation (the “elevation‐time axis” for temperature variation). Mid and high mountain populations of R. parvipalmata are more vulnerable to heat and cool impacts than lowland populations during the aquatic phase. All of this contradicts some of the existing predictions on adaptive thermal clines and vulnerability to climate change in elevational gradients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T05:41:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d3608b37d9b44f78a372d74f8eeb08fa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T05:41:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-d3608b37d9b44f78a372d74f8eeb08fa2022-12-22T03:45:39ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582022-10-011210n/an/a10.1002/ece3.9349Phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains: The importance of the elevation‐time axisLuis Miguel Gutiérrez‐Pesquera0Miguel Tejedo1Agustín Camacho2Urtzi Enriquez‐Urzelai3Marco Katzenberger4Magdalena Choda5Pol Pintanel6Alfredo G. Nicieza7Department of Evolutionary Ecology Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC Sevilla SpainDepartment of Evolutionary Ecology Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC Sevilla SpainDepartment of Evolutionary Ecology Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC Sevilla SpainCzech Academy of Sciences Institute of Vertebrate Biology Brno Czech RepublicDepartment of Evolutionary Ecology Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC Sevilla SpainDepartment of Organisms and Systems Biology University of Oviedo Oviedo SpainDepartment of Evolutionary Ecology Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC Sevilla SpainDepartment of Organisms and Systems Biology University of Oviedo Oviedo SpainAbstract Critical thermal limits (CTmax and CTmin) decrease with elevation, with greater change in CTmin, and the risk to suffer heat and cold stress increasing at the gradient ends. A central prediction is that populations will adapt to the prevailing climatic conditions. Yet, reliable support for such expectation is scant because of the complexity of integrating phenotypic, molecular divergence and organism exposure. We examined intraspecific variation of CTmax and CTmin, neutral variation for 11 microsatellite loci, and micro‐ and macro‐temperatures in larvae from 11 populations of the Galician common frog (Rana parvipalmata) across an elevational gradient, to assess (1) the existence of local adaptation through a PST‐FST comparison, (2) the acclimation scope in both thermal limits, and (3) the vulnerability to suffer acute heat and cold thermal stress, measured at both macro‐ and microclimatic scales. Our study revealed significant microgeographic variation in CTmax and CTmin, and unexpected elevation gradients in pond temperatures. However, variation in CTmax and CTmin could not be attributed to selection because critical thermal limits were not correlated to elevation or temperatures. Differences in breeding phenology among populations resulted in exposure to higher and more variable temperatures at mid and high elevations. Accordingly, mid‐ and high‐elevation populations had higher CTmax and CTmin plasticities than lowland populations, but not more extreme CTmax and CTmin. Thus, our results support the prediction that plasticity and phenological shifts may hinder local adaptation, promoting thermal niche conservatism. This may simply be a consequence of a coupled variation of reproductive timing with elevation (the “elevation‐time axis” for temperature variation). Mid and high mountain populations of R. parvipalmata are more vulnerable to heat and cool impacts than lowland populations during the aquatic phase. All of this contradicts some of the existing predictions on adaptive thermal clines and vulnerability to climate change in elevational gradients.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9349local adaptionmicroclimateniche conservatismphenotypic plasticitythermal tolerancewarming tolerance |
| spellingShingle | Luis Miguel Gutiérrez‐Pesquera Miguel Tejedo Agustín Camacho Urtzi Enriquez‐Urzelai Marco Katzenberger Magdalena Choda Pol Pintanel Alfredo G. Nicieza Phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains: The importance of the elevation‐time axis Ecology and Evolution local adaption microclimate niche conservatism phenotypic plasticity thermal tolerance warming tolerance |
| title | Phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains: The importance of the elevation‐time axis |
| title_full | Phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains: The importance of the elevation‐time axis |
| title_fullStr | Phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains: The importance of the elevation‐time axis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains: The importance of the elevation‐time axis |
| title_short | Phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains: The importance of the elevation‐time axis |
| title_sort | phenology and plasticity can prevent adaptive clines in thermal tolerance across temperate mountains the importance of the elevation time axis |
| topic | local adaption microclimate niche conservatism phenotypic plasticity thermal tolerance warming tolerance |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9349 |
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