Meeting Abstract

47.5  Jan. 6  Effect of UV-B radiation and skin color on survival and growth in larval amphibians BANCROFT, B.A.**; BLAUSTEIN, A.R.; Oregon State University; Oregon State University bancroft@science.oregonstate.edu

Ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B) negatively affects many living organisms, especially amphibians. However, UV-B has been present throughout evolutionary history and amphibians have a number of strategies to avoid or mediate damage caused by UV-B. One defense strategy is the use of photoprotective compounds and pigments. Melanin is a photoprotective pigment that can be induced upon exposure to UV-B. In addition, tadpoles use melanin to adjust body color in response to substrate color. We raised tadpoles of two species (Pseudacris regilla and Rana cascadae) on dark or light backgrounds and exposed them to UV-B in the laboratory for three weeks. We hypothesized that darker tadpoles would have higher survival and growth rates than light tadpoles when exposed to UV-B. P. regilla tadpoles exhibited more color change than R. cascadae tadpoles in all treatments. Tadpoles exposed to UV-B experienced higher mortality and reduced growth regardless of skin color or species. Our results suggest that melanin does not prevent negative effects of UV-B radiation in larval anurans.