Intestinal plasticity in Rhinella schneideri tadpoles induced by a predator insect (Belostoma elegans)

KEHR, ARTURO I.; GÓMEZ, VALERIA I.

JOURNAL OF HERPETOLOGY

Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles

Lugar: Salt Lake City, Utha USA; Año: 2007

0022-1511

As expected from the adaptive plasticity hypothesis, predator-induced traits also have associated costs in predator-free environments. In this experiment, we tested how Rhinella schneideri tadpoles responded to caged predators (Belostoma elegans). The experimental design was a randomized block design with a factorial combination of one density of tadpoles and four densities of caged predators.  The predators have significant impacts on gut length. We found that tadpoles reared with no predators had relatively longer guts than tadpoles reared with caged predators (P < 0.05). The reduction in gut length appears to be an indirect impact of a phenotypic trade-off.   Key Words: Intestinal plasticity – Rhinella schneideri tadpoles - Belostoma elegans predators – Argentina.