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No Clean Slates at Metamorphosis: Do Environmental Legacies Shape Evolutionary Outcomes in Amphibians?
H Terry1, J Cocalis1, D Nesta1
1Department of Biology, Indiana University at Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
|April 25, 2026
Summary
Early environments significantly impact amphibian development, with carry-over effects influencing later life traits. More research is needed on physiological and behavioral impacts, especially in natural settings.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Carry-over effects, where early-life environments influence later traits, are documented across taxa, including amphibians undergoing metamorphosis.
- Amphibians serve as a key model for studying these effects due to their dramatic life history changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize existing research on amphibian carry-over effects from over 170 empirical studies.
- To identify gaps in knowledge regarding how early environments shape post-metamorphic traits, particularly physiological, behavioral, and morphological aspects.
- To highlight unanswered questions about the mechanisms and evolutionary implications of carry-over effects in amphibians.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a broad synthesis of over 170 empirical studies on amphibian carry-over effects.
- Assessed how diverse early-life environments affect post-metamorphic traits across different taxa, developmental stages, and experimental contexts.
- Analyzed the types of traits (life-history, physiological, behavioral, morphological) and study conditions (laboratory vs. field) examined.
Main Results:
- The synthesis revealed a strong bias towards studying life-history traits and laboratory-based experiments.
- There is limited understanding of physiological, behavioral, and morphological carry-over effects, and their impact on performance in field conditions.
- Early environments can impose hidden costs not evident in size-based metrics, with potential for unexpected health outcomes from interacting stressors.
Conclusions:
- Significant knowledge gaps exist concerning the mechanisms and evolutionary consequences of carry-over effects in amphibians.
- Further research is crucial to understand how early-life environmental variation influences adult traits and fitness, especially under environmental change.
- Addressing these gaps is vital for understanding amphibian health, evolution, and adaptation potential.
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