Dryad
Published July 25, 2021 | Version v1
Dataset Open

Male reproductive effort might be evolving in the face of devastating disease in a threatened amphibian

Authors/Creators

  • 1. University of Melbourne
  • 2. James Cook University
  • 3. Griffith University

Description

The devastating infectious disease chytridiomycosis has caused declines of amphibians across the globe, yet some populations are persisting and even recovering. One understudied effect of wildlife disease is changes in reproductive effort. Here we aimed to understand if disease has plastic effects on reproduction and if reproductive effort could evolve with disease endemism. We compared the effects of experimental pathogen exposure (trait plasticity) and population-level disease history (evolution in trait baseline) on reproductive effort using gametogenesis as a proxy in the declining and endangered frog Litoria verreauxii alpina. We found that unexposed males from disease-endemic populations had higher reproductive effort, which is consistent with an evolutionary response to chytridiomycosis. We also found evidence of trait plasticity, where males and females were affected differently by infection: pathogen exposed males had higher reproductive effort (larger testes), whereas females had reduced reproductive effort (smaller and fewer developed eggs) regardless of the population of origin. Infectious disease can cause plastic changes in reproductive effort at an individual level, and population-level disease exposure can result in changes to baseline reproductive effort; therefore, individual- and population-level effects of disease should be considered when designing management and conservation programs for threatened and declining species. --

Notes

Funding provided by: Australian Research Council
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000923
Award Number: DE180101395

Funding provided by: Australian Research Council
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000923
Award Number: FT190100462

Funding provided by: Morris Animal Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100001250
Award Number: LP110200240

Funding provided by: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000202
Award Number: DP120100811

Funding provided by: Australian Research Council
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000923
Award Number: FT100100375

Funding provided by: Australian Research Council
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000923
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Taronga Conservation Science Initiative*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number:

Funding provided by: NSW Office of Environment and Heritage
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010241
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Morris Animal Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010241
Award Number: LP110200240

Funding provided by: Morris Animal Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010241
Award Number: LP110200240

Funding provided by: Morris Animal Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010241
Award Number: LP110200240

Funding provided by: Taronga Conservation Science Initiative
Crossref Funder Registry ID:

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