Increased ultraviolet-B radiation, climate change and latitudinal adaptation - a frog perspective

According to a traditional view, organisms and populations inhabiting high latitudes are likely to be exposed to lower effective doses of potentially harmful solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B) than those inhabiting lower la titudes. We challenge this traditional view by demonstrating that due to di fferences in phenology, populations occurring at high latitudes may actuall y be exposed to much higher effective doses of UV-B radiation than those oc curring at lower latitudes. Related to this, we point out a possibly wide-s pread interaction between climate change and ozone depletion which can effe ctively mask (or delay the appearance of) the negative effects of increased solar UV-B radiation on organismal fitness. These points are illustrated w ith examples from amphibians, which have been recently suggested to be part icularly vulnerable for UV-B mediated fitness loss.