Meeting Abstract
Environmental temperature impacts all aspects of ectotherm physiology, and also alters the composition, diversity, and function of their gut microbial communities. Alterations to gut microbiota at high temperatures may result in negative consequences for host performance and survival. However, it is currently unknown how quickly the gut microbiota responds to changes in temperature. Here, we investigated the temporal effects of temperature on the gut microbiota of two tadpole species, the green frog, Lithobates clamitans, and the bullfrog, L. catesbeiana. We housed tadpoles in captivity, exposed half of the animals to a 5°C increase in temperature, and collected whole gut samples at six time points, ranging from 12 hours to 10 days, following the temperature change. We found host species-specific differences in microbial community response to temperature. Bullfrog-associated communities were altered within 12 hours, while those of the green frog took 4 days to exhibit significant changes. Temperature-induced alterations to gut microbiota could be mediated by host physiological factors, an idea supported by the fact that we observed no change in the environmental microbial communities of tank water. These results suggest that even short-term increases in environmental temperature, which may occur more frequently under global climate change, could result in changes to ectotherm gut microbiota.
