Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Geographic variation and thermal plasticity shape salamander metabolic rates under current and future climates

January 15, 2022

Predicted changes in global temperature are expected to increase extinction risk for ectotherms, primarily through increased metabolic rates. Higher metabolic rates generate increased maintenance energy costs which are a major component of energy budgets. Organisms often employ plastic or evolutionary (e.g., local adaptation) mechanisms to optimize metabolic rate with respect to their environment. We examined relationships between temperature and standard metabolic rate across four populations of a widespread amphibian species to determine if populations vary in metabolic response and if their metabolic rates are plastic to seasonal thermal cues. Populations from warmer climates lowered metabolic rates when acclimating to summer temperatures as compared to spring temperatures. This may act as an energy saving mechanism during the warmest time of the year. No such plasticity was evident in populations from cooler climates. Both juvenile and adult salamanders exhibited metabolic plasticity. Although some populations responded to historic climate thermal cues, no populations showed plastic metabolic rate responses to future climate temperatures, indicating there are constraints on plastic responses. We postulate that impacts of warming will likely impact the energy budgets of salamanders, potentially affecting key demographic rates, such as individual growth and investment in reproduction.

Publication Year 2022
Title Geographic variation and thermal plasticity shape salamander metabolic rates under current and future climates
DOI 10.1002/ece3.8433
Authors D. J. Munoz, D. A. W. Miller, R. Schilder, Evan H. Campbell Grant
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Ecology and Evolution
Index ID 70228669
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Eastern Ecological Science Center