Spatial contagion drives colonization and recruitment of frogflies on clutches of red-eyed treefrogs

Spatial contagion occurs when the perceived suitability of neighbouring habitat patches is not independent. As a result, organisms may colonize less-preferred patches near preferred patches and avoid preferred patches near non-preferred patches. Spatial contagion may thus alter colonization dynamics...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology letters (2005) 2012-10, Vol.8 (5), p.887-889
Main Authors: Hughey, Myra C., McCoy, Michael W., Vonesh, James R., Warkentin, Karen M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agalychnis
Animals
Anura
Anura - physiology
Associational Susceptibility
Behavior, Animal
Diptera - physiology
Ecosystem
Linear Models
Megaselia
Models, Statistical
Oviposition
Population Dynamics
Population Ecology
Predatory Behavior
Reward Contagion
Territoriality
Trees
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Spatial contagion occurs when the perceived suitability of neighbouring habitat patches is not independent. As a result, organisms may colonize less-preferred patches near preferred patches and avoid preferred patches near non-preferred patches. Spatial contagion may thus alter colonization dynamics as well as the type and frequency of post-colonization interactions. Studies have only recently documented the phenomenon of spatial contagion and begun to examine its consequences for local recruitment. Here, we test for spatial contagion in the colonization of arboreal egg clutches of red-eyed treefrogs by a frogfly and examine the consequences of contagion for fly recruitment. In laboratory choice experiments, flies oviposit almost exclusively on clutches containing dead frog eggs. In nature, however, flies often colonize intact clutches without dead eggs. Consistent with predictions of contagion-induced oviposition, we found that flies more frequently colonize intact clutches near damaged clutches and rarely colonize intact clutches near other intact clutches. Moreover, contagion appears to benefit flies. Flies survived equally well and suffered less parasitism on clutches lacking dead eggs. This study demonstrates how reward contagion can influence colonization dynamics and suggests that colonization patterns caused by contagion may have important population- and community-level consequences.
ISSN:1744-9561
1744-957X
DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0468