Timing of oviposition influences the effects of a non-native grass on amphibian development
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PLANT-MICROBE-ANIMAL INTERACTIONS – ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Timing of oviposition influences the effects of a non‑native grass on amphibian development Chelsea S. Kross1,2 · Allyn K. Dodd3 · Philip L. Mariage1 · John D. Willson1 Received: 10 October 2019 / Accepted: 26 August 2020 / Published online: 17 September 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Land-use change can alter the energy dynamics in aquatic systems by changing the subsidies that form the nutrient base within them. However, experimental evaluations of subsidy change often fail to consider how effects, such as differences in individual growth and survival, may differ under varying ecological contexts experienced in the field. We used a mesocosm approach to investigate how litter (Native Prairie or Non-Native Tall-Fescue Grass) surrounding wetlands and timing of oviposition affected larval amphibian development. We found that survival differed between litter types in the Early-Oviposition treatment, with nearly 100% mortality in Fescue treatments. Conversely, survival was similar across litter types in the Late Oviposition treatment (~ 43%), and larvae in Late-Fescue treatments metamorphosed more quickly and were larger post-metamorphosis than larvae in Prairie treatments. Follow-up experiments confirmed that low dissolved oxygen (DO) was responsible for high mortality in Early-Fescue treatments; high quantities of Fescue resulted in a microbial bloom that reduced DO to
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