Body size mediates latitudinal population differences in the response to chytrid fungus infection in two amphibians
(2023) In Oecologia- Abstract
Factors behind intraspecific variation in sensitivity to pathogens remain poorly understood. We investigated how geographical origin in two North European amphibians affects tolerance to infection by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a generalist pathogen which has caused amphibian population declines worldwide. We exposed newly metamorphosed individuals of moor frog Rana arvalis and common toad Bufo bufo from two latitudinal regions to two different BdGPL strains. We measured survival and growth as infections may cause sub-lethal effects in fitness components even in the absence of mortality. Infection loads were higher in B. bufo than in R. arvalis, and smaller individuals had generally higher infection loads. B.... (More)
Factors behind intraspecific variation in sensitivity to pathogens remain poorly understood. We investigated how geographical origin in two North European amphibians affects tolerance to infection by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a generalist pathogen which has caused amphibian population declines worldwide. We exposed newly metamorphosed individuals of moor frog Rana arvalis and common toad Bufo bufo from two latitudinal regions to two different BdGPL strains. We measured survival and growth as infections may cause sub-lethal effects in fitness components even in the absence of mortality. Infection loads were higher in B. bufo than in R. arvalis, and smaller individuals had generally higher infection loads. B. bufo had high mortality in response to Bd infection, whereas there was little mortality in R. arvalis. Bd-mediated mortality was size-dependent and high-latitude individuals were smaller leading to high mortality in the northern B. bufo. Bd exposure led to sub-lethal effects in terms of reduced growth suggesting that individuals surviving the infection may have reduced fitness mediated by smaller body size. In both host species, the Swedish Bd strain caused stronger sublethal effects than the British strain. We suggest that high-latitude populations can be more vulnerable to chytrids than those from lower latitudes and discuss the possible mechanisms how body size and host geographical origin contribute to the present results.
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- author
- Meurling, Sara ; Siljestam, Mattias ; Cortazar-Chinarro, Maria LU ; Åhlen, David ; Rödin-Mörch, Patrik ; Ågren, Erik ; Höglund, Jacob and Laurila, Anssi
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Body size, Geographical variation, Sublethal effects, Tolerance
- in
- Oecologia
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:38097779
- scopus:85179664859
- ISSN
- 0029-8549
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00442-023-05489-5
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- e1c51eeb-8260-446d-a7a2-b58775c5091c
- date added to LUP
- 2024-01-10 09:45:43
- date last changed
- 2024-04-25 05:44:20
@article{e1c51eeb-8260-446d-a7a2-b58775c5091c,
abstract = {{<p>Factors behind intraspecific variation in sensitivity to pathogens remain poorly understood. We investigated how geographical origin in two North European amphibians affects tolerance to infection by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a generalist pathogen which has caused amphibian population declines worldwide. We exposed newly metamorphosed individuals of moor frog Rana arvalis and common toad Bufo bufo from two latitudinal regions to two different BdGPL strains. We measured survival and growth as infections may cause sub-lethal effects in fitness components even in the absence of mortality. Infection loads were higher in B. bufo than in R. arvalis, and smaller individuals had generally higher infection loads. B. bufo had high mortality in response to Bd infection, whereas there was little mortality in R. arvalis. Bd-mediated mortality was size-dependent and high-latitude individuals were smaller leading to high mortality in the northern B. bufo. Bd exposure led to sub-lethal effects in terms of reduced growth suggesting that individuals surviving the infection may have reduced fitness mediated by smaller body size. In both host species, the Swedish Bd strain caused stronger sublethal effects than the British strain. We suggest that high-latitude populations can be more vulnerable to chytrids than those from lower latitudes and discuss the possible mechanisms how body size and host geographical origin contribute to the present results.</p>}},
author = {{Meurling, Sara and Siljestam, Mattias and Cortazar-Chinarro, Maria and Åhlen, David and Rödin-Mörch, Patrik and Ågren, Erik and Höglund, Jacob and Laurila, Anssi}},
issn = {{0029-8549}},
keywords = {{Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis; Body size; Geographical variation; Sublethal effects; Tolerance}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{Oecologia}},
title = {{Body size mediates latitudinal population differences in the response to chytrid fungus infection in two amphibians}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05489-5}},
doi = {{10.1007/s00442-023-05489-5}},
year = {{2023}},
}