Effects of phenotypic plasticity on post-metamorphic traits during pre-metamorphic stages in the anuran Pelodytes punctatus

Question: In organisms with a complex life cycle, are stages phenotypically coupled or does metamorphosis break all developmental links? Hypothesis: For those organisms with developmental phenotypic plasticity, if metamorphosis does not break all developmental links, then changes in juvenile performance will occur as a cost of phenotypic plasticity. Organism: The anuran Pelodytes punctatus from the north-east Iberian Peninsula. Methods: Two experimental treatments: (1) constant water level and (2) drying treatment. Larvae phenotypic plasticity was measured using morphological and life-history (time to and mass at metamorphosis) traits. After metamorphosis, toadlet morphology and its jump capacity were measured in both treatments. Results: Tadpoles in the drying treatment accelerated metamorphosis and reached this stage with a lower body mass. They also showed a reduced tail fin during the larval phase. Toadlets in the drying treatment showed shorter and less muscular hind limbs and a reduced jump capacity compared with individuals in the constant water treatment independently of time of development.