As environments are predicted to become warmer and drier, amphibians become more susceptible to desiccation, thus impacting their ability to survive.  However, their ectothermic nature could lead to different resistances to water loss across different populations. Knowing this, how does temperature resistance affect water loss-resistance (r) in cricket frogs? We predicted that frogs from the southern population, and frogs acclimated to higher temperatures, would have higher r overall. To test this, we collected Northern cricket frogs (Acris crepitans) from a northern (Missouri) and southern (Louisiana) population. We tested the effect of acclimation temperature (14 or 28˚C) and origin population on r across a range of test temperatures (11-35˚C), using a flow-through system that maintained a constant 0.5 kPa vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Although cold acclimated frogs grew much larger than warm acclimated frogs, which had a direct effect on r, we found that after controlling for within group variation in body size, cricket frogs that have been acclimated to 28˚C were less resistant to water loss than those acclimated to 14˚C, and  those collected from Louisiana had lower r than those from Missouri. We also found that Missouri cricket frogs had higher r at cooler test temperatures. Overall, we found that acclimation temperature had a strong effect on resistance to water loss. This work finds some support for variation in resistance to water loss across populations in Northern cricket frogs, which should be considered when modeling the effects of future climate change on this and other widely distributed species.

Sam would like to thank their faculty sponsor, Dr. Daniel Warren, for support on this project. Dan has helped Sam through both the troubling times with research, as well as the successes, encouraging Sam to grow as a scientist. He has allowed for a lab environment that not only allows Sam to want to continue pushing forward with their work, but also allows comfort in knowing someone has their back in case something goes wrong. Sam is looking forward to continuing their education with Dan as their faculty advisor for their master's program.