New publication on adaptation to traffic noise in frogs

[Jennifer Tennessen <>]

Dear Bioacoustics colleagues,

My co-authors and I are pleased to announce a new publication on wood frog adaptation to physiologically stressful traffic noise.

Tennessen, J.B., Parks, S.E., Swierk, L., Reinert, L.K., Holden, W.M., Rollins-Smith, L.A., Walsh, K.A. and Langkilde, T., 2018. Frogs adapt to physiologically costly anthropogenic noise. Proc. R. Soc. B, 285(1891), p.20182194.

URL: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1891/20182194

Abstract

Human activities impose novel pressures on amphibians, which are experiencing unprecedented global declines, yet population-level responses are poorly understood. A growing body of literature has revealed that noise is an anthropogenic stressor that impacts ecological processes spanning sub-cellular to ecosystem levels. These consequences can impose novel selective pressures on populations, yet whether populations can adapt to noise is unknown. We tested for adaptation to traffic noise, a widespread sensory “pollutant”. We collected eggs of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) from populations from different traffic noise regimes, reared hatchlings under the same conditions, and tested frogs for differences in sublethal fitness-relevant effects of noise. We show that prolonged noise impaired production of antimicrobial peptides associated with defence against disease. Additionally, noise and origin site interacted to impact immune and stress responses. Noise exposure altered leukocyte production and increased baseline levels of the stress-relevant glucocorticoid, corticosterone, in frogs from quiet sites, but noise-legacy populations were unaffected. These results suggest noise-legacy populations have adapted to avoid fitness-relevant physiological costs of traffic noise. These findings advance our understanding of the consequences of novel soundscapes, and reveal a pathway by which anthropogenic disturbance can enable adaptation to novel environments.

Please contact me with any questions or to request a copy.

Cheers,

Jennifer Tennessen

--

Jennifer B. Tennessen, Ph.D.
Research Associate

Department of Biology

Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA, 98225