Divergence in heritable life history traits suggests potential for local adaptation and trade-offs associated with a coal ash disposal site.

ABSTRACT: Globally, human activities have resulted in rapid environmental changes that present unique challenges for wildlife. However, investigations of local adaptation in response to simultaneous exposure to multiple anthropogenic selection pressures are rare and often generate conflicting results. We used an in situ reciprocal transplant design within a quantitative genetic framework to examine how adaptive evolution and phenotypic plasticity contribute to the persistence of an amphibian population inhabiting an environment characterized by high levels of multiple toxic trace elements. We found evidence of phenotypic divergence that is largely consistent with local adaptation to an environment contaminated with multiple chemical stressors, tied to potential trade-offs in the absence of contamina

SUBMITTER: Flynn RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8372081 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature