Trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variations
Abstract Background Climatic and geographic variations have profound effects on the resource utilization of individuals and populations. Evaluating resource use in different environments is crucial for understanding species ecological adaptation strategies and promoting biodiversity conservation. St...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Zoology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-024-00553-z |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846112320907902976 |
|---|---|
| author | Kaiyue Cui Shengnan Yang Junhua Hu |
| author_facet | Kaiyue Cui Shengnan Yang Junhua Hu |
| author_sort | Kaiyue Cui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Climatic and geographic variations have profound effects on the resource utilization of individuals and populations. Evaluating resource use in different environments is crucial for understanding species ecological adaptation strategies and promoting biodiversity conservation. Stable isotopes are widely used to assess trophic niches, providing quantitative indicators of ecological interactions between organisms and resource use in ecosystems. This study assesses the trophic niche traits of spiny-bellied frogs (Quasipaa boulengeri) in the marginal mountains of the Sichuan Basin in southwestern China using stable isotopes. Trophic niche variation under different time periods and environmental conditions is explored. Results The spiny-bellied frogs experienced a significant reduction in trophic niche width during the past breeding season. The populations in the northwestern Sichuan Basin had a greater trophic niche width than the southeastern populations, and their δ15N values showed a positive correlation with temperature seasonality and a negative correlation with annual precipitation. Despite differences between the northwestern and southeastern populations, there was a consistent trend of increased individual specialization with latitude in both the northwestern and southeastern regions. Conclusions Ontogenetic niche shifts and differences in trophic niche traits between the northwestern and southeastern populations indicate diverse adaptation strategies in mountain frogs. The findings underscore the impact of geographical and climate variations on the resource utilization of amphibians. In addition, patterns of individual specialization highlight the significance of considering intra- and interpopulational changes when studying ecological adaptation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-143e360cd9764c0a94d05d31e2adefb6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1742-9994 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Zoology |
| spelling | doaj-art-143e360cd9764c0a94d05d31e2adefb62024-12-22T12:38:36ZengBMCFrontiers in Zoology1742-99942024-12-0121111010.1186/s12983-024-00553-zTrophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variationsKaiyue Cui0Shengnan Yang1Junhua Hu2Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of SciencesChengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of SciencesChengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Background Climatic and geographic variations have profound effects on the resource utilization of individuals and populations. Evaluating resource use in different environments is crucial for understanding species ecological adaptation strategies and promoting biodiversity conservation. Stable isotopes are widely used to assess trophic niches, providing quantitative indicators of ecological interactions between organisms and resource use in ecosystems. This study assesses the trophic niche traits of spiny-bellied frogs (Quasipaa boulengeri) in the marginal mountains of the Sichuan Basin in southwestern China using stable isotopes. Trophic niche variation under different time periods and environmental conditions is explored. Results The spiny-bellied frogs experienced a significant reduction in trophic niche width during the past breeding season. The populations in the northwestern Sichuan Basin had a greater trophic niche width than the southeastern populations, and their δ15N values showed a positive correlation with temperature seasonality and a negative correlation with annual precipitation. Despite differences between the northwestern and southeastern populations, there was a consistent trend of increased individual specialization with latitude in both the northwestern and southeastern regions. Conclusions Ontogenetic niche shifts and differences in trophic niche traits between the northwestern and southeastern populations indicate diverse adaptation strategies in mountain frogs. The findings underscore the impact of geographical and climate variations on the resource utilization of amphibians. In addition, patterns of individual specialization highlight the significance of considering intra- and interpopulational changes when studying ecological adaptation.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-024-00553-zEcological adaptationNiche shiftOntogeneticQuasipaa boulengeriStable isotopesSpecialist |
| spellingShingle | Kaiyue Cui Shengnan Yang Junhua Hu Trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variations Frontiers in Zoology Ecological adaptation Niche shift Ontogenetic Quasipaa boulengeri Stable isotopes Specialist |
| title | Trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variations |
| title_full | Trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variations |
| title_fullStr | Trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variations |
| title_short | Trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variations |
| title_sort | trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the sichuan basin individual specialization and response to climate variations |
| topic | Ecological adaptation Niche shift Ontogenetic Quasipaa boulengeri Stable isotopes Specialist |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-024-00553-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kaiyuecui trophicnicheadaptationofmountainfrogsaroundthesichuanbasinindividualspecializationandresponsetoclimatevariations AT shengnanyang trophicnicheadaptationofmountainfrogsaroundthesichuanbasinindividualspecializationandresponsetoclimatevariations AT junhuahu trophicnicheadaptationofmountainfrogsaroundthesichuanbasinindividualspecializationandresponsetoclimatevariations |