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Quo vadis amphibia? Global warming and breeding phenology in frogs, toads and salamanders
Citation
While, GM and Uller, T, Quo vadis amphibia? Global warming and breeding phenology in frogs, toads and salamanders, Ecography, 37, (10) pp. 921-929. ISSN 0906-7590 (2014) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2014 Wiley-Blackwell
Abstract
As the earth is getting warmer, many animals and plants have shifted their timing of breeding towards earlier dates. However,
there is substantial variation between populations in phenological shifts that typically goes unexplained. Identification of
the different location and species characteristics that drive such variable responses to global warming is crucial if we are to
make predictions for how projected climate change scenarios will play out on local and global scales. Here we conducted
a phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis of breeding phenology across frogs, toads and salamanders to examine the
extent of variation in amphibian breeding phenology in response to global climate change. We show that there is strong
geographic variation in response to global climate change, with species at higher latitudes exhibiting a more pronounced
shift to earlier breeding than those at lower latitudes. Our analyses suggest that this latitude effect is a result of both the
increased temperature (but not precipitation) at higher latitudes as well as a greater responsiveness by northern populations
of amphibians to this change in temperature. We suggest that these effects should reinforce any direct effect of increasing
warming at higher latitudes on breeding phenology. In contrast, we found very little contribution from other location
factors or species traits. There was no evidence for a phylogenetic signal on advancing breeding phenology or responsiveness
to temperature, suggesting that the amphibians that have been studied to date respond similarly to global warming.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | climate change, phenology, amphibians |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Other Biological Sciences |
| Research Field: | Global Change Biology |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences |
| Author: | While, GM (Dr Geoff While) |
| ID Code: | 93915 |
| Year Published: | 2014 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 15 |
| Deposited By: | Zoology |
| Deposited On: | 2014-08-22 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-10-31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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