Predation on amphibian eggs and tadpoles by common predators in acidified lakes

Henrikson, Britt-Inger

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0587.1990.tb00609.x

Cited by 50 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Travis et al 1985;Jung and Jagoe 1995), because fish disappear from acidified lakes and acid-tolerant insect predators become abundant (e.g. Henrikson 1989).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Maternal investment in egg size: environment- and population-specific effects on offspring performance

2004

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Geographic variation in maternal investment in offspring size can be adaptive if differences in investment translate into improved offspring performance in the given environments. We compared two moor frog, Rana arvalis, populations in the laboratory to test the hypothesis that investment in large eggs in populations originating from stressful (acid) environments improves offspring performance when reared in stressful (acid) conditions. We found that large initial size (hatchling mass) had moderate to strong, environment-dependent positive effects on larval and metamorphic traits in the acidic origin population, but only weak effects in the neutral origin population. Our results suggest that interactions between environmental conditions and initial size can be important determinants of individual performance, and that investment in large eggs is adaptive in acid environments. These findings emphasize the role of maternal effects as adaptations to environmental stress.

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“…Travis et al 1985;Jung and Jagoe 1995), because fish disappear from acidified lakes and acid-tolerant insect predators become abundant (e.g. Henrikson 1989).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Maternal investment in egg size: environment- and population-specific effects on offspring performance

2004

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“…Abandoned cacao plantations in Costa Rica exhibit both lower species richness and different relative abundances of amphibians than primary rain forest (Heinen, 1992). Chemical imbalances in aquatic environments, often generated by human activities, decrease the survival of amphibian embyos and larvae that inhabit these waters (Jaskoski and Kniders, 1974;Jetter and Harris, 1976;Dunson and Connell, 1982;Freda and Dunson, 1986;Henrikson, 1990: Karns, 1992. Modifications of the aquatic habitat seems to have reduced the numbers of species of reptiles residing and breeding in some suburban areas on the periphery of Indianapolis, Indiana (Minton, 1968).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decline of some west-central Florida anuran populations in response to habitat degradation

1996

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Recent reports have suggested that a global decline in amphibian populations has taken place during the past few decades. Urban development is thought to affect the richness and abundances of species and, therefore, could be an important cause of decline. We estimated the richness and abundances of anurans in wetlands at a residential development and in similar wetlands at a nearby undeveloped park. The residential development originally was pine flatwoods habitat, as is the undeveloped park currently. We also compared the anuran species' composition of the park in 1992 with the composition in 1974.Both richness and abundances of anurans in the residential development were different than those in the undeveloped park. Employing the same amount of sampling effort at both sites, we trapped or observed 11 species at the development and 15 species at the park, and trapped 569 individuals at the development and 1224 individuals at the park. The anuran species richness at the undeveloped park in 1992 was nearly the same as in 1974; a single rare species apparently was not present in 1992. Of the 15 species present in both surveys, 14 showed higher abundances in 1992 than in 1974.We suggest that the current differences between the residential development and the park have resulted from degradation of both the uplands used by many species during the dry season and the temporary wetlands used by many species for reproduction. Four species especially sensitive to such degradation, Bufo quercicus, Scaphiopus h. holbrookii, Hyla femoralis, and H. gratiosa, were the species missing from the residential development.Not all species of anurans typical of pine flatwoods appeared to be affected adversely by development. Three species of ranids, Rana utricularia, R. grylio, and R. catesbeiana, were found in higher abundances at the residential development than at the park. These ranid species breed in a wide variety of aquatic systems, including the permanent bodies of water that are now abundant in the development, and probably use the uplands less than other anurans. If amphibian decline is international in scope, then the decline could be attributable either to global changes caused by humans, or to local, but widespread, environmental degradation, or to a combination of factors. While much recent popular focus has been on potential global causes of decline, we believe that this emphasis may have caused attention to be taken away from local causes that, as our study demonstrated, may be at least as important. We suggest that in many places, local environmental degradation is insidiously chipping away at amphibian diversity, and that more emphasis should be placed on these local causes than is now the case.

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“…Gunzburger and Travis 2005;Heuesser 1970;Licht 1969;McDiarmid and Altig 1999). Henrikson (1990) found that the eggs of B. bufo were palatable to invertebrate predators with sucking mouth parts while tadpoles were attractive to most predators. Although ostracods may be considered as possessor of a chewing apparatus (Meisch 2000), our results show that they were not repulsed by Common toad eggs, embryos and tadpoles.…”

Section: Interactions Between Ostracods and Amphibiansmentioning

confidence: 98%

Ostracoda and Amphibia in temporary ponds: who is the prey? Unexpected trophic relation in a mediterranean freshwater habitat

Ottonello¹,

Romano

2010

Aquat Ecol

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Small and temporary freshwater ecosystems are important biodiversity ''hot spots'' of the Mediterranean region, and their food webs are considered as very complex systems. Amphibians and ostracods are two highly ubiquitous classes of metazoans adapted to live in temporary ponds. Their trophic interactions are considered unidirectional, the amphibians acting as predators and the ostracods as preys. In the field, we observed the opposite interaction in few ponds in Northern Italy. To confirm this qualitative evidence, we set up laboratory experiments to investigate the predation by the Ostracod mussel shrimp (Heterocypris incongruens) on eggs and tadpoles of Common toad (Bufo bufo) and Stripless tree frog (Hyla meridionalis). Amphibian eggs of both species were offered to ostracods either as unique trophic resource or, alternatively, together with another kind of food. Similarly, tadpoles of both species were simultaneously offered to ostracods (with alternative food) to disclose their preferences. Ostracods preyed mainly on amphibian eggs and no significant differences in the rate of predation between toad and treefrog eggs were detected. However, ostracods preferred Bufo when offered along with Hyla tadpoles. Toad eggs and larvae are commonly considered highly unpalatable, but our results contrasted this view. The difference in the predation rate between the two tadpole species is discussed in the light of their swimming behaviour. We show that feeding relationships between Amphibia and Ostracoda are much more complex than expected and depend on both the ecological context and amphibian life stage. The knowledge of the trophic connections among taxa is a fundamental prerequisite to further and more exhaustive studies on community ecology.

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Predation on amphibian eggs and tadpoles by common predators in acidified lakes

Cited by 50 publications

References 18 publications

Maternal investment in egg size: environment- and population-specific effects on offspring performance

Maternal investment in egg size: environment- and population-specific effects on offspring performance

Decline of some west-central Florida anuran populations in response to habitat degradation

Ostracoda and Amphibia in temporary ponds: who is the prey? Unexpected trophic relation in a mediterranean freshwater habitat

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