Predator driven reproductive behavior in a tropical frog

Life history trade-offs in reproductive strategy are often invoked as ecological agents of evolutionary change, despite a limited amount of experimental data from the field. The larval deposition strategy of Allobates femoralis was tested in Southeastern Peru using a blocked, fully crossed experimen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolutionary ecology 2013-07, Vol.27 (4), p.725-737
Main Authors: McKeon, C. Seabird, Summers, Kyle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibians
Animal behavior
Animal Ecology
Animal reproduction
Anura
Aquatic insects
Behavior
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Ecology
Environmental aspects
Evolutionary Biology
Experimental design
Frogs
Insects, Aquatic
Life history
Life Sciences
Original Paper
Plant Sciences
Predation
Predators
Snakes
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Summary:Life history trade-offs in reproductive strategy are often invoked as ecological agents of evolutionary change, despite a limited amount of experimental data from the field. The larval deposition strategy of Allobates femoralis was tested in Southeastern Peru using a blocked, fully crossed experimental design. Arrays of four pools were used to test the effects of pool size and the presence of a predatory insect (Belostomatid) on the deposition behavior of A. femoralis . Further experiments investigated the colonization of insect predators into potential larval habitats and interactions between predatory insects. Results suggest that pool size, the presence of predatory aquatic insects, and interactions between predators, influence larval deposition in A. femoralis. Similar ecological interactions may have driven toxic dendrobatids to the use of arboreal phytotelmata and associated derived reproductive strategies.
ISSN:0269-7653
1573-8477
DOI:10.1007/s10682-013-9641-3