Giant spiny-frog (Paa spinosa) from different populations differ in thermal preference but not in thermal tolerance

Abstract

To examine whether different thermal environments have induced a change in thermal characteristics, we have conducted a between-population comparison on broad geographic patterns of preferred body temperature and critical thermal maximum in a giant spiny-frog Paa spinosa. We found a bimodal pattern of preferred body temperature during the day, with high preferred body temperature during the inactive diurnal period and low temperature during the active nocturnal period. There were significant differences among six populations of P. spinosa in preferred body temperatures, which decreased along a south to north gradient. Unlike preferred body temperatures, critical thermal maximum did not differ between frogs from the six localities. Although not all characteristics of thermal physiology in P. spinosa underwent parallel changes between the populations, the shift of preferred body temperatures suggests that the features of thermal physiology in the frog may change along a latitudinal gradient in response to different thermal environments.