Interspecific Competition in Tadpoles: Growth Inhibition and Growth Retrieval in Natterjack Toads, Bufo calamita

Griffiths, Richard A.; Edgar, Paul; Wong, Adeline

doi:10.2307/5431

Cited by 44 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Field studies described above, as well as others on interference competition between tadpoles (Banks & Beebee, 1987;Griffiths, Edgar & Wong, 1991), indicated that P. richardsi numbers drop rapidly after tadpoles leave the pond during metamorphosis, and that their steady-state abundance in ponds unused by anurans must be very low. Prototheca richardsi is, however, resilient to digestion by tadpoles, probably because its thick cell wall is rich in sporopollenin (Atkinson, Gunning & John, 1972), and we were interested to discover why protothecans disappeared so rapidly following the departure of their main hosts.…”

Section: Fate Of Prototheca Richardsi In Laboratori^ Microcosmsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of an unpigmented heterotrophic alga Prototheca richardsi

1994

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SUMMARY 1. Numbers of the contramensal alga Prototheca richardsi were high in spring in two ponds used for breeding by anuran amphibians, but lower at other times of year and undetectable in two ponds not used by anurans. 2. Prototheca richardsi became abundant in the silt of eight experimental ponds which contained tadpoles, but remained undetectable in four otherwise identical ponds lacking tadpoles. 3. Prototheca richardsi numbers in laboratory microcosms remained stable for many days in sterile tap water, but declined with a half‐life of about 6 days in pond water at 20°C. 4. Further studies with microcosms using antibiotics and electron microscopy indicated that mortality of P. richardsi was caused primarily by pathogenic bacteria.

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Section: Fate Of Prototheca Richardsi In Laboratori^ Microcosmsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of an unpigmented heterotrophic alga Prototheca richardsi

1994

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“…Studies primarily have been conducted in ®eld enclosures or seminatural outdoor tanks and run as black box experiments (Wilbur 1984;Hairston 1989;Gurevitch et al 1992). The implicit assumptions in almost all of these studies are that tadpoles function as omnivorous grazers or suspension feeders, occupy lower trophic levels in experimental communities, and primarily interact either through exploitative competition for food resources (e.g., Morin 1983;Wilbur 1987) or interference mechanisms involving the transmission of growth inhibiting microorganisms (e.g., Griths et al 1991). If these basic assumptions are false, then interactions that can occur among community members through both direct and indirect pathways are far more intricate and the causal mechanisms for experimental results are less certain.…”

Section: Evidence Of Macrophagous Predation By Generalized Tadpolesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pond tadpoles with generalized morphology: is it time to reconsider their functional roles in aquatic communities?

Petranka¹,

Kennedy²

1999

Oecologia

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With rare exceptions, anuran larvae have traditionally been considered to occupy lower trophic levels in aquatic communities where they function as microphagous suspension feeders. This view is being challenged by studies showing that tadpoles with generalized morphology often function as macrophagous predators. Here, we review the literature concerning macrophagy by tadpoles and provide two additional examples involving generalized tadpoles. In the first, we demonstrate with laboratory and field experiments that wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles are major predators of macroinvertebrates in ponds. In the second, we show that green frog (R. clamitans) tadpoles can cause catastrophic reproductive failure of the wood frog via egg predation. These results and data from other studies challenge the assumption that generalized tadpoles function as filter-feeding omnivores, and question the general applicability of community organization models which assume that predation risk increases with pond permanence. We suggest that predation risk is greater in temporary ponds than in more permanent ponds for many organisms that are vulnerable to predation by tadpoles. This being so, a conditional model based upon interactions that are species-specific, life-stage-specific, and context-dependent may better explain community organization along hydrological gradients than models which assume that temporary ponds have few or no predators.

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“…Sympatric species might also dissociate along the temporal scale (Griffiths et al 1991;Kronfeld-Schor and Dayan 2003), and so escape the negative impact of interspecific competition. Temporal niche partitioning is typically present on a diurnal scale, separating the peaks of activity of the coexisting competitors into different parts of the day (Kotler et al 1993;Albrecht andGotelli 2001, Gutman andDayan 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Niche separation in space and time between two sympatric sister species—a case of ecological pleiotropy

et al. 2007

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We investigate the niche separation in space and time between the Palearctic sister species Leptidea sinapis and L. reali (Lepidoptera, Pieridae) in central Sweden. Using field sampling, we show that L. reali is a habitat specialist confined to meadows, whereas L. sinapis is a habitat generalist also inhabiting forests. This difference in habitat utilization was corroborated by experimental release of laboratory-reared L. sinapis and L. reali in two adjacent forest and meadow habitats during their natural flight period; virtually all recaptured L. reali that were released in the forest were later caught in the meadow, whereas L. sinapis shifted equally often from meadow to forest as in the opposite direction. In the field, both species fly in May-June, but L. reali appears on average a week earlier in spring and has a substantial second generation in July, whereas L. sinapis is practically univoltine. When overwintered pupae were incubated under identical conditions in the laboratory, females did, however, not differ in phenology, and L. sinapis males actually emerged earlier than L. reali males. When larvae were reared at 23°C on the host plant Lotus corniculatus at a range of daylengths, both species produced a substantial proportion of directly developing individuals at an 18.5 h daylength or longer. When reared at 23°C and a 22 h daylength, L. reali showed an overall higher propensity to develop directly than L. sinapis on plant species originating from both the meadow and the forest habitat. Both Leptidea species showed a lower propensity to enter direct development on forest associated plants than on meadow associated plants. Hence, we suggest that the difference in phenology and voltinism between

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Interspecific Competition in Tadpoles: Growth Inhibition and Growth Retrieval in Natterjack Toads, Bufo calamita

Cited by 44 publications

References 29 publications

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of an unpigmented heterotrophic alga Prototheca richardsi

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of an unpigmented heterotrophic alga Prototheca richardsi

Pond tadpoles with generalized morphology: is it time to reconsider their functional roles in aquatic communities?

Niche separation in space and time between two sympatric sister species—a case of ecological pleiotropy

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