Between-habitat distributions of pond tadpoles and their insect predators in response to fish presence

Between-habitat distributions of prey shared by multiple predators depend on habitat use by the predators, whose own distributions may interact. We used a large-scale, whole-system natural experiment to examine distributions of anuran tadpoles and insect predators between pond microhabitats with con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrobiologia 2020-03, Vol.847 (5), p.1343-1356
Main Authors: Kloskowski, Janusz, Nieoczym, Marek, Stryjecki, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggregation
Animal behavior
Aquatic plants
Aquatic reptiles
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Bufo bufo
Complexity
Ecological distribution
Ecology
Fish
Fishes
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Frogs
Habitat selection
Habitat utilization
Habitats
Insects
Interspecific relationships
Juveniles
Life Sciences
Littoral environments
Macrophytes
Microenvironments
Microhabitat
Microhabitats
Ponds
Predation
Predators
Prey
Primary Research Paper
Small mammals
Toads
Vegetation
Zoology
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Summary:Between-habitat distributions of prey shared by multiple predators depend on habitat use by the predators, whose own distributions may interact. We used a large-scale, whole-system natural experiment to examine distributions of anuran tadpoles and insect predators between pond microhabitats with contrasting complexity (open water vs emergent littoral vegetation) in drainable ponds that were either kept fishless or stocked with fish. Total relative densities of insect predators did not significantly differ with respect to the fish status of the ponds. Individual anuran taxa responded variously, but only fish-tolerant Bufo bufo densities were higher in the presence of fish. The densities of both insect predators and tadpoles showed positive interactions between fish presence and the use of complex littoral habitat. The habitat shift to littoral vegetation could be indirectly amplified by fish adverse impact on submerged macrophytes, the main structured microhabitat in open-water areas. Irrespective of mechanisms of fish effects (direct consumption, behavioral deterrence or alteration of habitat conditions), aggregation of both tadpoles and insect predators in littoral vegetation may put tadpoles at greater risk of predation by insects, a potentially important factor of amphibian mortality in waters containing fish.
ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1007/s10750-020-04190-5