Search for: All records

Abstract Fitness trade‐offs are a foundation of ecological and evolutionary theory because trade‐offs can explain life history variation, phenotypic plasticity, and the existence of polyphenisms.Using a 32‐year mark‐recapture dataset on lifetime fitness for 1093 adult Arizona tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum) from a high elevation, polyphenic population, we evaluated the extent to which two life history morphs (aquatic paedomorphs vs. terrestrial metamorphs) exhibited fitness trade‐offs in breeding and body condition with respect to environmental variation (e.g. climate) and internal state‐based variables (e.g. age).Both morphs displayed a similar response to higher probabilities of breeding during years of high spring precipitation (i.e. not indicative of a morph‐specific fitness trade‐off). There were likely no climate‐induced fitness trade‐offs on breeding state for the two life history morphs because precipitation and water availability are vital to amphibian reproduction.Body condition displayed a contrasting response for the two morphs that was indicative of a climate‐induced fitness trade‐off. While metamorphs exhibited a positive relationship with summer snowpack conditions, paedomorphs were unaffected. Fitness trade‐offs from summer snowpack are likely due to extended hydroperiods in temporary ponds, where metamorphs gain a fitness advantage during the summer growing season by exploiting resources that are unavailable to paeodomorphs. However, paedomorphs appear to have the overwintering fitness advantage because they consistently had higher body condition than metamorphs at the start of the summer growing season.Our results reveal that climate and habitat type (metamorphs as predominately terrestrial, paedomorphs as fully aquatic) interact to confer different advantages for each morph. These results advance our current understanding of fitness trade‐offs in this well‐studied polyphenic amphibian by integrating climate‐based mechanisms. Our conclusions prompt future studies to explore how climatic variation can maintain polyphenisms and promote life history diversity, as well as the implications of climate change for polyphenisms. 

The timing of life events (phenology) can be influenced by climate. Studies from around the world tell us that climate cues and species' responses can vary greatly. If variation in climate effects on phenology is strong within a single ecosystem, climate change could lead to ecological disruption, but detailed data from diverse taxa within a single ecosystem are rare. We collated first sighting and median activity within a high-elevation environment for plants, insects, birds, mammals and an amphibian across 45 years (1975–2020). We related 10 812 phenological events to climate data to determine the relative importance of climate effects on species’ phenologies. We demonstrate significant variation in climate-phenology linkage across taxa in a single ecosystem. Both current and prior climate predicted changes in phenology. Taxa responded to some cues similarly, such as snowmelt date and spring temperatures; other cues affected phenology differently. For example, prior summer precipitation had no effect on most plants, delayed first activity of some insects, but advanced activity of the amphibian, some mammals, and birds. Comparing phenological responses of taxa at a single location, we find that important cues often differ among taxa, suggesting that changes to climate may disrupt synchrony of timing among taxa.