Clare mcGowan

In the summer of 2025, I co-led an experiment with my research partner studying the effects of predatory cues from Dytiscidae larvae as well as extreme heat stress on the anti-predator mechanisms, growth, development, and morphology of Pacific Chorus Frogs (PCFs). We collected both our focal prey and predator species from nearby wetlands and brought them to our lab. We exposed 80 PCFs to two predator treatments- the presence and absence of cues- and four temperature treatments- baseline temperatures, +3(°C) increase from baseline, a short and high-intensity heat event, and a long low-intensity heat event. These heat treatments were intended to test how heat stress of varying magnitude and duration may cause immediate and carryover effects on PCFs from tadpole to the terrestrial stage. We measured PCF growth, development, and morphology at metamorphosis. After metamorphosis, we measured juvenile anti-predator mechanisms through jump trials and we are continuing to examine carryover effects by monitoring compensatory growth and juvenile survivorship.