Hauling field gear up Gothic Mountain…
Ectotherms are especially sensitive to climate change because their body temperature, and thus many fundamental body processes, are determined by the temperature of the surrounding environment. Understanding how metabolic rates vary ontogenetically is critical to predicting how climate change will affect amphibian populations. The population of Arizona tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum) at the Mexican Cut Nature Preserve allows for unique research due to their extended larval stage and the variety of environments they inhabit. We measured the standard metabolic rate of salamanders at multiple stages of development and in ponds that differ in environmental characteristics such as density, hydroperiod, and thermal quality. This study sought to inform how metabolic rate varies with mass and age class or origin pond. Age and pond were not significant predictors of metabolic rate. Mass did predict metabolic rate with the allometric equation MR = 0.1398 × M0.4432 for this population at 10–20 °C. These data can be used to guide future research on metabolism in this population, and predict future fitness consequences of elevated metabolic rates under projected climate change.
Items connected by shared entities, co-authorship, citations, or semantic similarity.