Giants, dwarfs and the environment - metamorphic trait plasticity in the common frog.

ABSTRACT: In order to understand adaptation processes and population dynamics, it is central to know how environmental parameters influence performance of organisms within populations, including their phenotypes. The impact of single or few particular parameters in concert was often assessed in laboratory and mesocosm experiments. However, under natural conditions, with many biotic and abiotic factors potentially interacting, outcomes on phenotypic changes may be different. To study the potential environmental impact on realized phenotypic plasticity within a natural population, we assessed metamorphic traits (developmental time, size and body mass) in an amphibian species, the European common frog Rana temporaria, since a) larval amphibians are known to exhibit high levels of phenotypic plasticity

SUBMITTER: Grozinger F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3943853 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature