DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Local adaptation of stress physiology in Rana Sylvatica

环境引起的压力在生物体的生活史中是常见的，并且在很大程度上，生物体对这些压力源的反应决定了成功的生存和繁殖。 因此，为了了解环境和生物体性能之间的反馈，必须确定生物体是否以及如何适应其表型反应，以常见的压力，如捕食者。 这些对压力源的反应可能会对生物体的表现造成当前和未来的代价。 该项目旨在确定是否以及如何适应当地的压力反应发生在种群的林蛙（林蛙sylvatica），生活沿着梯度的幼虫捕食风险。 使用一个共同的花园的方法，加上应激激素的操纵，该项目将测试适应在两个潜在的机制，将降低成本的压力在高捕食者池塘：减少应激激素生产的捕食者，并减少生理反应循环应激激素。 如果长期应对捕食者持续存在的成本大于收益，那么研究人员预计，来自高捕食者池塘的蝌蚪将表现出减少应激激素的产生或减少对实验升高的应激激素的反应。 该项目的结果将有助于我们对环境压力对生物体的影响的总体理解，并提供有关两栖动物如何能够（或无法）科普慢性环境挑战的见解。 此外，该项目将提供机会，让本科生参与初级研究，并将公众宣传和教育纳入当地土地所有者关于两栖动物和其他生物的池塘和湿地支持。

Environmentally-induced stress is common in the life histories of organisms, and, to a large extent, the organism's response to those stressors determines successful survival and reproduction. Therefore, in order to understand feedbacks between environment and organism performance, it must be determined whether and how organisms adapt their phenotypic responses to commonly encountered stressors such as predators. These responses to stressors may come at both current and future costs to the organisms performance. This project aims to determine whether and how local adaptation of the stress response occurs in populations of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) that live along a gradient of larval predation risk. Using a common-garden approach coupled with stress hormone manipulation, the project will test for adaptation in two potential mechanisms that would reduce the costs of stress in high-predator ponds: reduction of stress hormone production to predators, and reduction of physiological responsiveness to circulating stress hormones. If the cost of chronically responding to the constant presence of predators is greater than the benefit, then investigators expect that tadpoles from populations in high-predator ponds will exhibit either reduction of their production of stress hormones or reduction in their response to experimentally-elevated stress hormones. The results from this project will contribute to our general understanding of the effects of environmental stress on organisms as well as provide insights into how amphibians in particular are able (or unable) to cope with chronic environmental challenges. In addition, this project will provide opportunities for involving undergraduates in primary research, as well as incorporating public outreach and education to local landowners regarding the amphibians and other organisms their ponds and wetlands support.