Dataset Information

Impact of UV-B exposure on amphibian embryos: linking species physiology and oviposition behaviour.

ABSTRACT: Increasing ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B) has recently captured the attention of ecologists as a key environmental stressor. Certain species may be particularly vulnerable as a result of either high natural exposure to UV-B or limited physiological capacity to withstand it. UV-B sensitivity has been examined at the cellular and individual level for a wide variety of taxa, but estimates of exposure to UV-B in natural systems are lacking and predictions of large-scale impacts are therefore limited. Here, we combine data on the physiological sensitivity to UV-B and patterns of field exposure across sites for embryos of several well-studied US Pacific Northwest amphibian species. We find substantial differences among species' physiological abilities to withstand UV-B and in the level of UV-B exposure of embryos in the field. More specifically, we find that species with the highest physiological sensitivity to UV-B are those with the lowest field exposures as a function of the location of embryos and the UV-B attenuation properties of water at each site. These results also suggest that conclusions made about species' vulnerability to UV-B in the absence of information on field exposures may often be misleading.

SUBMITTER: Palen WJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1564105 | biostudies-other | 2005 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Impact of UV-B exposure on amphibian embryos: linking species physiology and oviposition behaviour.

Palen Wendy J WJ Williamson Craig E CE Clauser Aaron A AA Schindler Daniel E DE

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20050601 1569

Increasing ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B) has recently captured the attention of ecologists as a key environmental stressor. Certain species may be particularly vulnerable as a result of either high natural exposure to UV-B or limited physiological capacity to withstand it. UV-B sensitivity has been examined at the cellular and individual level for a wide variety of taxa, but estimates of exposure to UV-B in natural systems are lacking and predictions of large-scale impacts are therefore limited ...[more]

PMID: 16024386

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Dataset Information

Impact of UV-B exposure on amphibian embryos: linking species physiology and oviposition behaviour.

Publications

Impact of UV-B exposure on amphibian embryos: linking species physiology and oviposition behaviour.

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