A natural experiment identifies an impending ecological trap for a neotropical amphibian in response to extreme weather events

Extreme weather events are predicted to increase as a result of climate change, yet amphibian responses to extreme disturbance events remain understudied, especially in the Neotropics. Recently, an unprecedented windstorm within a protected Costa Rican rainforest opened large light gaps in sites whe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Ecology and evolution Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. e8848 - n/a
Main Authors:	Clark, Morgan A., Ota, William M., Smith, Sierra J., Muramoto, Brett K., Ngo, Summer, Chan, Gabriella E., Kenyon, Maxwell A., Sturtevant, Matthew C., Diamond, Max G., Bucciarelli, Gary M., Kats, Lee B.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-04-2022 John Wiley and Sons Inc Wiley
Subjects:	Amphibians Behavior Behavioural Ecology Climate change Costa Rica Disturbance Experiments Extreme weather Frogs Generalized linear models Habitats Males natural experiment Oophaga pumilio Pathogens Physiology Polls & surveys Rainforests Sublethal effects trade offs Ultraviolet radiation Weather La Selva Costa Rica ultraviolet radiation disturbance trade offs natural experiment Costa Rica amphibians
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Summary:	Extreme weather events are predicted to increase as a result of climate change, yet amphibian responses to extreme disturbance events remain understudied, especially in the Neotropics. Recently, an unprecedented windstorm within a protected Costa Rican rainforest opened large light gaps in sites where we have studied behavioral responses of diurnal strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) to ultraviolet radiation for nearly two decades. Previous studies demonstrate that O. pumilio selects and defends perches where ultraviolet radiation (UV‐B) is relatively low, likely because of the lethal and sublethal effects of UV‐B. In this natural experiment, we quantified disturbance to O. pumilio habitat, surveyed for the presence of O. pumilio in both high‐disturbance and low‐disturbance areas of the forest, and assessed UV‐B levels and perch selection behavior in both disturbance levels. Fewer frogs were detected in high‐disturbance habitat than in low‐disturbance habitat. In general, frogs were found vocalizing at perches in both disturbance levels, and in both cases, in significantly lower UV‐B levels relative to ambient adjacent surroundings. However, frogs at perches in high‐disturbance areas were exposed to UV‐B levels nearly 10 times greater than males at perches in low‐disturbance areas. Thus, behavioral avoidance of UV‐B may not reduce the risks associated with elevated exposure under these novel conditions, and similarly, if future climate and human‐driven land‐use change lead to sustained analogous environments. Recently, an unprecedented windstorm within a protected Costa Rican rainforest opened large light gaps in sites where we have studied behavioral responses of diurnal strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) to ultraviolet radiation for nearly two decades. In this experiment, we quantified disturbance to O. pumilio habitat, surveyed for the presence of O. pumilio in both high‐disturbance and low‐disturbance areas of the forest, and assessed UV‐B levels and perch selection behavior in both disturbance levels. In general, frogs were found vocalizing at perches in both disturbance levels, and in both cases, in significantly lower UV‐B levels relative to ambient adjacent surroundings, yet frogs at perches in high‐disturbance areas were exposed to UV‐B levels nearly 10 times greater than males at perches in low‐disturbance areas.
Bibliography:	Funding information This study was partially funded by research support funds associated with the Frank R Seaver Chair in Natural Science (L.B.K). ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2045-7758 2045-7758
DOI:	10.1002/ece3.8848