Exogenous stress hormones alter energetic and nutrient costs of development and metamorphosis

Variation in environmental conditions during larval life stages can shape development during critical windows and have lasting effects on the adult organism. Changes in larval developmental rates in response to environmental conditions, for example, can trade off with growth to determine body size and condition at metamorphosis, which can affect adult survival and fecundity. However, it is unclear how use of energy and nutrients shape trade-offs across life-stage transitions because no studies have quantified these costs of larval development and metamorphosis. We used an experimental approach to manipulate physiological stress in larval amphibians, along with respirometry and C-13-breath testing to quantify the energetic and nutritional costs of development and metamorphosis. Central to larval developmental responses to environmental conditions is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal (HPA/I) axis, which regulates development, as well as energy homeostasis and stress responses across many taxa. Given these pleiotropic effects of HPA/I activity, manipulation of the HPA/I axis may provide insight into costs of metamorphosis. We measured the energetic and nutritional costs across the entire larval period and metamorphosis in a larval amphibian exposed to exogenous glucocorticoid (GC) hormones - the primary hormone secreted by the HPA/I axis. We measured metabolic rates and dry mass across larval ontogeny, and quantified lipid stores and nutrient oxidation via C-13-breath testing during metamorphosis, under control and GC-exposed conditions. Changes in dry mass match metamorphic states previously reported in the literature, but dynamics of metabolism were influenced by the transition from aquatic to terrestrial respiration. GC-treated larvae had lower dry mass, decreased fat stores and higher oxygen consumption during stages where controls were conserving energy. GC-treated larvae also oxidized greater amounts of C-13-labelled protein stores. These results provide evidence for a proximate cause of the physiological trade-off between larval growth and development, and provide insight into the energetic and nutrient costs that shape fitness trade-offs across life stages.