Effects of beaver on the thermal biology of an amphibian

It is often assumed that ecological interactions happen at rapid rates rela tive to evolutionary change. In this study we examined the development and physiology of an amphibian (Rand sylvatica) from populations found in fores ted wetlands, and from wetlands that had been cleared by reinvading beaver (Castor canadensis). Embryos from beaver wetlands hatched at lower rates wh en raised in a shaded, common garden setting compared with embryos from for ested wetlands. Larvae from beaver wetlands had higher critical thermal max ima compared with conspecifics from forested wetlands. These patterns sugge st that R. sylvatica populations may have diverged rapidly (in less than 36 years) in response to changes in their environment induced by another spec ies. Other agents of thermal change, such as anthropogenic landscape conver sion or alteration of global climate, could have analogous impacts on wetla nd dependent species such as amphibians.