| For many species, there is only a limited period in the year when conditions are suitable for reproduction or growth. There is compelling evidence that the timing of life-cycle events (i.e. phenology) of many organisms has been affected by recent climate warming. Understanding the ecological consequences to climate-induced shifts in breeding phenology across broad geographic areas will allow us to predict the future impact of climate change on natural ecosystems. Here, using amphibians as study system, I will investigate the changes in larval life-history strategies across latitudinal gradients in response to variation in the strength of time constraints (i.e. breeding phenology) and the costs of larval growth strategies under different levels of time-stress. I will conduct large common garden experiments to examine crucial life history traits affecting fitness (duration of the larval period, mass at metamorphosis, larval growth rate, larval and juvenile morphology), and apply techniques of ecological immunology, oxidative stress, and lipid analysis. This multidisciplinary approach is of high relevance for understanding life-history evolution at the light of current global change, and will help us to implement optimal strategies to conserve biodiversity. |