Behavioral responses of Bufo arenarum tadpoles to odonate naiad predation

PEROTTI M. G., ; FITZGERALD, L.A.; MORENO, L.; PUETA, M.

Herpetological Conservation and Biology

Partners in Amphibian and reptile Conservation, Springs Preserve.org

Año: 2006 vol. 1 p. 117 - 120

1931-7603

In the presence of predators, anuran tadpoles often exhibit behavioral plasticity, which in turn reduces predationrisk. We evaluated indirect effects of odonate larva predation on activity of Bufo arenarum tadpoles. We reared intact andtail-damaged larvae in three different predator treatments: (1) caged predators fed tadpoles; (2) caged predators that werestarved; and (3) no predators. Both intact and damaged tadpoles were significantly less active when exposed to predator cues.There were no differences in activity between tadpoles with damaged and intact tails, however significant differences wereobserved between fed and starved predator treatments. Our results are consistent with other studies that have shown bufonidtadpoles reduce activity when exposed to predator cues and address a novel contribution of southern-hemisphere bufonid,expanding the knowledge of that family in ecological experiments.