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Updated: Sep 17, 2025

Functional Evaluation of Olfactory Pathways in Living Xenopus Tadpoles
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Urban developmental environments alter tadpole phenotypes depending on origin.

Andrew D Cronin1,2, Judith A H Smit1,2, Jacintha Ellers1

  • 1Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, Section Ecology and Evolution, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The Journal of Animal Ecology
|June 30, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Urbanisation affects tadpole development, with urban-origin frogs growing faster but experiencing constrained growth in urban environments. These changes highlight adaptive responses to urban conditions across generations.

Keywords:
Engystomops pustulosusadaptationlarval developmentphenotypic plasticityurban ecology and evolution

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Environmental Science

Background:

  • Urbanisation significantly alters natural environments, posing challenges to biodiversity.
  • Metamorphic organisms, particularly during vulnerable early life stages, are highly susceptible to urban impacts.
  • Understanding how urban conditions influence early development is crucial for assessing broader ecological and evolutionary consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of urban environmental conditions on the developmental phenotypes of túngara frog tadpoles (Engystomops pustulosus).
  • To examine the interaction between tadpole origin (urban vs. forest) and developmental environment (urban vs. forest).
  • To assess how urbanisation influences developmental timing, morphology, and behavior in early life stages.

Main Methods:

  • A reciprocal transplant experiment was conducted using túngara frog tadpoles from urban and forest populations.
  • Tadpole clutches were split and exposed to either urban or forest developmental conditions for two weeks.
  • Developmental timing, morphology, and vigilance behavior were measured to evaluate treatment and origin effects.

Main Results:

  • Tadpoles from urban populations exhibited faster developmental rates irrespective of the treatment environment.
  • Exposure to urban environments resulted in constrained tadpole growth compared to forest environments, independent of origin.
  • Urban-origin tadpoles displayed enhanced behavioral plasticity when exposed to disturbance compared to forest-origin tadpoles.

Conclusions:

  • Urban environmental conditions impact tadpole developmental phenotypes within and across generations, likely as an adaptation to warmer urban temperatures.
  • Divergence in juvenile growth and development may contribute to observed differences in adult túngara frog phenotypes between urban and forest areas.
  • Integrating early developmental stages is essential for a comprehensive understanding of urbanisation's evolutionary and ecological implications.