Short-term responses of Rana arvalis tadpoles to pH and predator stress: adaptive divergence in behavioural and physiological plasticity?
Environmental stress is a major driver of ecological and evolutionary processes in nature. To cope with stress, organisms can adjust through phenotypic plasticity and/or adapt through genetic change. Here, we compared short-term behavioural (activity) and physiological (corticosterone levels, CORT) responses of Rana arvalis tadpoles from two divergent populations (acid origin, AOP, versus neutral origin, NOP) to acid and predator stress. Tadpoles were initially reared in benign conditions at pH 7 and then exposed to a combination of two pH (acid versus neutral) and two predator cue (predator cue versus no predator cue) treatments. We assessed behavioural activity within the first 15 min, an…
The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Sweden
The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Sweden Emerging infectious disease is an important source of wildlife population declines and loss of biological diversity. Many of these emerging wildlife diseases are caused by fungi. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) infects amphibians and has caused severe population declines in all continents where amphibians occur. While Bd is widespread in southern and central Europe, its occurrence and distribution in northernmost Europe is unknown. Bd was first found in Sweden in 2010. To get a more complete picture of the distribution of the chytrid we conducted a larger survey during 2015 and 2016 centered round t…