Rapid adaptation to cold in the invasive cane toad Rhinella marina.

ABSTRACT: Understanding rapid adaptation to novel environments is essential as we face increasing climatic change. Invasive species are an ideal system for studying adaptation as they are typically introduced to novel environments where they must adapt if they are to persist. We used the invasive cane toad, Rhinella marina, to investigate the contribution of plasticity and evolution to rapid adaptation in a novel environment. Rhinella marina is a neotropical toad that has invaded areas with climates outside of its native environmental niche. The goal of this research was to understand how cane toads persist in northern Florida, the coldest region of their combined natural and invasive range, and originally thought to be beyond their thermal breadth. We measured Critical thermal minima

SUBMITTER: Mittan CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6379050 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature