Environmental change associated with anthropogenic disturbance can lower habitat quality, especially for sensitive species such as many amphibians. Variation in environmental quality may affect an organism's physiological health and, ultimately, survival and fitness. Using multiple health measures can aid in identifying populations at increased risk of declines. Our objective was to measure environmental variables at multiple spatial scales and their effect on three indicators of health in ornate chorus frog (Pseudacris ornata) tadpoles to identify potential correlates of population declines. To accomplish this, we measured a glucocorticoid hormone (corticosterone; CORT) profile associated with the stress response, as well as the skin mucosal immune function (combined function of skin secretions and skin bacterial community) and bacterial communities of tadpoles from multiple ponds. We found that water quality characteristics associated with environmental variation, including higher water temperature, conductivity and total dissolved solids, as well as percent developed land nearby, were associated with elevated CORT release rates. However, mucosal immune function, although highly variable, was not significantly associated with water quality or environmental factors. Finally, we examined skin bacterial diversity as it aids in immunity and is affected by environmental variation. We found that skin bacterial diversity differed between ponds and was affected by land cover type, canopy cover and pond proximity. Our results indicate that both local water quality and land cover characteristics are important determinants of population health for ornate chorus frogs. Moreover, using these proactive measures of health over time may aid in early identification of at-risk populations that could prevent further declines and aid in management decisions.

中文翻译：

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幼虫华丽合唱青蛙的生理学和微生物多样性的变化与栖息地质量有关。

与人为干扰相关的环境变化会降低栖息地质量，特别是对于诸如两栖动物等敏感物种而言。环境质量的变化可能会影响生物体的生理健康，并最终影响生存和适应性。使用多种健康措施可以帮助识别下降风险增加的人群。我们的目标是在多个空间尺度上测量环境变量及其对华丽合唱青蛙（Pseudacris ornata）three的三个健康指标的影响，以识别人口下降的潜在相关因素。为此，我们测量了与压力反应相关的糖皮质激素（corticosterone; CORT）分布，以及来自多个池塘的t的皮肤粘膜免疫功能（皮肤分泌物和皮肤细菌群落的综合功能）和bacterial的细菌群落。我们发现与环境变化相关的水质特征，包括较高的水温，电导率和总溶解固体，以及附近已开发土地的百分比，都与CORT释放速率升高有关。然而，粘膜免疫功能尽管高度可变，但与水质或环境因素没有显着相关。最后，我们检查了皮肤细菌多样性，因为它有助于免疫力并受环境变化的影响。我们发现池塘之间的皮肤细菌多样性有所不同，并且受土地覆盖类型，冠层覆盖和池塘接近程度的影响。我们的结果表明，当地水质和土地覆盖特征都是华丽合唱青蛙种群健康的重要决定因素。此外，随着时间的推移使用这些主动的健康措施可能有助于及早发现高危人群，从而防止进一步的下降并有助于管理决策。