Effects of Heavy Metal Pollution on Fitness and Swimming Performance ofBufo raddeiTadpole

Systematic studies on the impact of environmental pollution on the survival adaptability of amphibians are relatively few. In this study,Bufo raddeitadpoles from two places with totally different backgrounds of heavy metal pollution were chosen to explore the effects of heavy metal pollution on fitness and swimming performance of tadpoles, the physiological effects were investigated as well. The tadpoles at GS 25, GS 30 and GS 35 were collected randomly from the two study sites and were exposed to different environmental temperatures. The results showed that heavy metal enrichment and antioxidant levels were significantly higher in the tadpoles under long-term heavy metal stress. Meanwhile, heavy metal pollution affected the adaptability of tadpoles to environmental change and decreased the swimming performance of the tadpoles. Unexpected, the tadpoles from heavy metal-polluted area also showed some adaptive changes, mainly reflected in the increase in swimming endurance.