DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Linking genes to cues: How molecular mechanisms explain individual variation of adaptive plasticity to an environmental cue

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This research will investigate how salamanders respond to climate change by acclimating to new environments. The capacity to adjust physiological traits may be especially important for amphibians because they are one of the most threatened groups of animals on the planet. Amphibians use both terrestrial and aquatic environments and thus are particularly sensitive to environmental degradation due to climate change. Unfortunately, despite increased interest in response to climate change, we know very little about how salamander populations will fare under changing conditions. The goal of this project is to identify genes that may contribute to a salamander's ability to accommodate environmental change. This study will help determine if salamander populations can evolve an increased capacity to deal with variable environments. The study will also provide underrepresented college students the opportunity to develop independent, inquiry-based projects in amphibian biology. In response to climate change, organisms must adapt, acclimate, migrate, or potentially face extinction. Adaptation is a heritable evolutionary change of a population over generations. Acclimation is change that happens within the lifetime of an individual animal. If individuals vary in their capacity to acclimate, increased acclimation ability might itself evolve due to natural selection creating an adaptation of acclimation. The study will determine the capacity of individual Southern grey-cheeked salamander (Plethodon metcalfi) to adjust rates of water loss in response to temperature and humidity. Using a time-course experimental design, the study will identify differences in gene expression between individuals that acclimate and individuals that do not acclimate and identify the genes that the salamanders use to reduce rates of water loss as temperature changes. Upon identifying these genes, the study will link the activity of those genes to specific physiological responses that alter water loss. The result will be an increased understanding of the genetic basis of acclimation and adaptation to environmental cues.