Data from: Extreme climate-induced life-history plasticity in an amphibian

Age specific survival and reproduction are closely linked to fitness and therefore subject to strong selection that typically limits their variability within species. Furthermore, adult survival rate in vertebrate populations is typically less variable over time than other life history traits, such as fecundity or recruitment. Hence, adult survival is often conserved within a population over time, compared to the variation in survival found across taxa. In stark contrast to this general pattern, we report evidence of extreme short-term variation of adult survival in Rose's Mountain Toadlet (Capensibufo rosei), which is apparently climate-induced. Over seven years, annual survival rate varied between 0.04 and 0.92, and 94% of this variation was explained by variation in breeding-season rainfall. Preliminary results suggest that this variation reflects adaptive life-history plasticity to a degree thus far unrecorded for any vertebrate, rather than direct rainfall induced mortality. In wet years, these toads appeared to achieve increased reproduction at the expense of their own survival whereas in dry years, their survival increased at the expense of reproduction. Such environmentally induced plasticity may reflect a diversity of life-history strategies not previously appreciated among vertebrates.年龄特异性存活与繁殖与适合度（fitness）紧密相关，因此受到强烈的选择压力作用，这类选择通常会限制物种内相关性状的变异幅度。此外，脊椎动物种群的成体存活率随时间的变异程度通常低于其他生活史性状（life history traits），例如繁殖力（fecundity）或补充量（recruitment）。因此，相较于不同类群间的存活变异，种群内的成体存活率往往在时间维度上保持相对稳定。与这一普遍模式形成鲜明对比的是，本研究报道了玫瑰山蟾蜍（Rose's Mountain Toadlet，学名*Capensibufo rosei*）成体存活率存在极端短期变异的证据，该变异显然由气候因素诱导。在7年的监测周期内，其年存活率波动范围为0.04至0.92，其中94%的变异可由繁殖季降雨量的变化解释。初步研究结果表明，这种变异反映出的适应性生活史可塑性（adaptive life-history plasticity）程度，在迄今所有已报道的脊椎动物中均未被记录，且该变异并非由降雨直接诱导的死亡所致。在湿润年份，这些蟾蜍似乎以自身存活为代价提升了繁殖产出；而在干旱年份，它们则以繁殖投入为代价提高了自身存活率。这种由环境诱导的可塑性，可能反映出脊椎动物中此前未被认知的多种生活史策略类型。