Thermal and immunological stress modulate the locomotor performance of female Xenopus laevis frogs
Abstract
Temperature strongly influences physiological performance and immune function in ectotherms, making ectotherms like amphibians particularly vulnerable to the combined effects of climate change and infectious diseases. Since immune activation is energetically expensive, infected individuals may face dilemmas between maintaining immune defences and sustaining ecologically critical functions such as locomotion. These dilemmas are expected to be especially pronounced in females due to their high reproductive investment. In this study, we investigated how a simulated infection affects locomotor performance in female Xenopus laevis frogs under three ecologically relevant thermal conditions: cold (15 • C), optimal (22 • C) and warm (27 • C). Frogs were injected with saline solution (control) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and locomotor endurance and jump force were measured. Immune activation reduced locomotor performance at all temperatures. Locomotor endurance was highest near the optimum temperature and decreased at both cold and hot extremes, particularly in frogs treated with LPS, while LPS-induced reductions in jump force were similar across all temperatures. These results indicate that extreme temperatures can intensify the functional costs of immune activation, potentially limiting dispersal, predator escape and other behaviours essential for population persistence. Our findings highlight the importance of integrating thermal stressors and disease when assessing amphibian vulnerability under ongoing climate change.
Related
- Reduced Food Availability Amplifies Behavioral Depression and Impairs Locomotor Performance After Immune Challenge in Xenopus laevis
- Sustained exposure to high dietary ethanol impairs bumblebee survival and locomotor performance
- Pursuit dynamics among Australian marsupials and dogs: comparative locomotor performance and escape probability
- Fire-Disturbed Soil and Intraspecific Competition Modulate Juvenile Performance of Invasive Hakea decurrens subsp. physocarpa
- High-pressure processing and thermal pasteurization of blueberry purée-based baby food differentially modulate polyphenol bioaccessibility and intestinal cell responses
BibTeX
@article{oliveira2026thermal,
title = {{Thermal and immunological stress modulate the locomotor performance of female Xenopus laevis frogs}},
author = {Thaysa G Oliveira and Laurie Araspin and Laura Camila Cabanzo-Olarte and Carlos A Navas and Anthony Herrel},
journal = {Conservation Physiology},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1093/conphys/coag035},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05763656v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Thermal and immunological stress modulate the locomotor performance of female Xenopus laevis frogs
AU - Thaysa G Oliveira
AU - Laurie Araspin
AU - Laura Camila Cabanzo-Olarte
AU - Carlos A Navas
AU - Anthony Herrel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/18
JO - Conservation Physiology
DO - 10.1093/conphys/coag035
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05763656v1
AB - Temperature strongly influences physiological performance and immune function in ectotherms, making ectotherms like amphibians particularly vulnerable to the combined effects of climate change and infectious diseases. Since immune activation is energetically expensive, infected individuals may face dilemmas between maintaining immune defences and sustaining ecologically critical functions such as locomotion. These dilemmas are expected to be especially pronounced in females due to their high reproductive investment. In this study, we investigated how a simulated infection affects locomotor performance in female Xenopus laevis frogs under three ecologically relevant thermal conditions: cold (15 • C), optimal (22 • C) and warm (27 • C). Frogs were injected with saline solution (control) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and locomotor endurance and jump force were measured. Immune activation reduced locomotor performance at all temperatures. Locomotor endurance was highest near the optimum temperature and decreased at both cold and hot extremes, particularly in frogs treated with LPS, while LPS-induced reductions in jump force were similar across all temperatures. These results indicate that extreme temperatures can intensify the functional costs of immune activation, potentially limiting dispersal, predator escape and other behaviours essential for population persistence. Our findings highlight the importance of integrating thermal stressors and disease when assessing amphibian vulnerability under ongoing climate change.
SN - 2051-1434
ER -