Pre-hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog.

Developmental plasticity is increasingly recognized as important for ecological and evolutionary processes. However, few studies consider the potential for delayed effects of early environments. Here, we show that tadpoles hatching from clutches exposed to water mold (Saprolegnia) have 20% decreased...

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Main Authors: Uller, T, Sagvik, J, Olsson, M
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2009
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author Uller, T
Sagvik, J
Olsson, M
author_facet Uller, T
Sagvik, J
Olsson, M
author_sort Uller, T
collection OXFORD
description Developmental plasticity is increasingly recognized as important for ecological and evolutionary processes. However, few studies consider the potential for delayed effects of early environments. Here, we show that tadpoles hatching from clutches exposed to water mold (Saprolegnia) have 20% decreased mass at metamorphosis, despite no further exposure subsequent to hatching. The effects were consistent across four populations that have previously been shown to vary in their resistance to infection during embryonic development. Contrary to expectations, time to hatching or metamorphosis was not affected, suggesting that the results do not reflect an evolved escape strategy from infected waters triggered by embryonic conditions. Instead, decreased mass at metamorphosis may arise from carry-over effects of impaired embryo development. Such strong links across developmental stages have potential consequences for the evolution of plasticity and the responses of populations to emergent infections.
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spelling oxford-uuid:c95af4ec-1cb7-4ddf-8977-c15ccc9583592022-03-27T06:58:36ZPre-hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:c95af4ec-1cb7-4ddf-8977-c15ccc958359EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2009Uller, TSagvik, JOlsson, MDevelopmental plasticity is increasingly recognized as important for ecological and evolutionary processes. However, few studies consider the potential for delayed effects of early environments. Here, we show that tadpoles hatching from clutches exposed to water mold (Saprolegnia) have 20% decreased mass at metamorphosis, despite no further exposure subsequent to hatching. The effects were consistent across four populations that have previously been shown to vary in their resistance to infection during embryonic development. Contrary to expectations, time to hatching or metamorphosis was not affected, suggesting that the results do not reflect an evolved escape strategy from infected waters triggered by embryonic conditions. Instead, decreased mass at metamorphosis may arise from carry-over effects of impaired embryo development. Such strong links across developmental stages have potential consequences for the evolution of plasticity and the responses of populations to emergent infections.
spellingShingle Uller, T
Sagvik, J
Olsson, M
Pre-hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog.
title Pre-hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog.
title_full Pre-hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog.
title_fullStr Pre-hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog.
title_full_unstemmed Pre-hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog.
title_short Pre-hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog.
title_sort pre hatching exposure to water mold reduces size at metamorphosis in the moor frog
work_keys_str_mv AT ullert prehatchingexposuretowatermoldreducessizeatmetamorphosisinthemoorfrog
AT sagvikj prehatchingexposuretowatermoldreducessizeatmetamorphosisinthemoorfrog
AT olssonm prehatchingexposuretowatermoldreducessizeatmetamorphosisinthemoorfrog