Predicting the biological impacts of a changing climate is essential in preparing society for inevitable changes in ecosystem sustainability. We explored shifts in the resiliency of amphibian-driven pond communities under varying climate regimes using the frameworks of phenotypic flexibility and species diversity. Communities that experience regular disturbances, such as seasonal pond drying, are predicted to favor populations with highly flexible life history strategies, particularly in amphibian and macroinvertebrate species. Conversely, communities from permanent ponds should have high species diversity but relatively low flexibility in trait responses to climate such as growth and development rates. We posited that at an ecological threshold, communities could become unstable or less functional, but that diversity at the trait or species level could mediate resiliency. We tested extreme pond drying as an ecological stressor using a fully factorial mesocosm experiment with two community types (sourced from seasonally drying ponds vs permanent ponds) and three hydroperiod regimes (stable, slowly drying, stochastic drying). We stocked zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, macroinvertebrates, and amphibian species in naturally relevant densities from these two pond types. Initially, communities from permanent ponds had higher species diversity and lower body size variation relative to communities sourced from seasonally drying ponds. These trends in species diversity vs trait diversity persisted in permanent hydroperiod treatments, but we found significant species turnover and shifts in development and growth rates under drying pond regimes. Interestingly, stochastic drying-induced patterns in vertebrate species turnover and development were more similar to those observed under permanent hydroperiod conditions. This indicates that some species are incapable of responding to novel hydroperiod stressors. Results from this experiment reinforce the need to identify ecological thresholds and explore disturbance history as a mechanism for climate resiliency.