Data for: Canopy coverage, light, and moisture affect thermoregulatory trade-offs in an amphibian breeding habitat

When amphibians thermoregulate, they face a fundamental trade-off between the ability to maintain activity and an increased rate of dehydration at higher temperatures. Canopy coverage affects both the thermal and hydric conditions of the environment and can therefore influence amphibian thermoregulation. Frogs require proper conditions to thermoregulate to successfully grow, survive, and reproduce. But while we know how canopy and environmental variables typically affect operative temperature, less is known about the effects on amphibian water loss rates. In this study, we measure the effect of canopy coverage on the conditions available for thermoregulation at a breeding pond of the California red-legged frog, Rana draytonii. We use agar frog models to estimate the thermal and hydric capacities frogs would experience in locations with different canopy coverage and microhabitats. At each site, we deployed models under four microhabitat treatments: wet/sun, wet/shade, dry/sun, and dry/sh..., Study Design
To measure the thermoregulatory conditions at the pond, we divided up the pond into 8 wedges, each with an area of approximately 51.28m2. We deployed agar frogs in each site’s shoreline for 24-hour periods from March to September. We used natural differences in canopy coverage to test how percent canopy coverage affects EWL and Te on agar frogs. For a list of variables and their definitions, see Table 1.
To measure the full range of thermal and hydric conditions an amphibian could experience, agar frogs were placed in different microhabitats using a 2 x 2 factorial design with two levels of light treatment (sun vs shade) and two levels of water treatment (wet vs dry). We tracked Te with internal dataloggers, EWL from mass changes in agar frogs, and other environmental conditions. With this design, we tested how percent canopy coverage affects agar frogs’ Te and EWL individually. Then, we tested the bi-directional interaction between Te and EWL using structural equation mode..., , # Data for: Canopy coverage, light, and moisture affect thermoregulatory trade-offs in an amphibian breeding habitat

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This file includes the main data set for how environmental variables, specifically canopy density, affect the thermal and hydric measurements of agar frogs. The code for linear mixed models and structural equation modeling is also included.

## Description of the Data and file structure

### Spranger et al. Water loss and operative temperature response variables

This data frame has all the predictor and response variables measured in the experiment. See R markdown for analyses.

* Spranger_et_al._dataset.csv
* Metadata_Spranger_et_al._dataset.docx - contains all variables and units in Spranger_et_al._dataset.csv

### Spranger et al. Linear Mixed Models

R markdown analyzing environmental variable effects on agar operative temperature and water loss. This R markdown has the code that uses forward selection to build and run linear mixed effects models.

* Spran...