Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Lay Summary
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (36)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Richardson, J. M. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Richardson, J. M. L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Behavioral Ecology Vol. 12 No. 1: 51-58
© 2001 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

A comparative study of activity levels in larval anurans and response to the presence of different predators

Jean M. L. Richardson

Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA

Address correspondence to J. M. L. Richardson, Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord St., Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada. E-mail: jmlr{at}zool.utoronto.ca .

Activity level is a key behavioral trait in many animals which mediates a trade-off between finding food and avoiding predation. Optimal activity level will therefore depend on environment, and plasticity in response may increase fitness (if an organism encounters multiple environments in a lifetime). One group in which activity level, and its relationship to foraging and predation risk, has been well studied is larval anurans. Anurans inhabit a range of distinct freshwater aquatic community types that are created by differences in pond permanency and top predator. Species segregate across these pond types and therefore tadpoles from different species encounter different selection regimes. I hypothesized that species from different pond types would therefore differ in activity behavior, and in plasticity of this behavior. I tested this in a phylogenetic framework to consider the evolution of plasticity in anurans diversifying into different pond types. Time spent active was quantified for larvae of each of 13 anuran species (from three taxonomic families) in four conditions: when no predator was present, and in the non-lethal presence of a dragonfly, newt, or fish predator. Species nested within pond type by taxonomic family differed significantly in time spent active. A significant interaction between predator treatment and taxonomic family was also observed. A phylogenetic analysis of change in behavior revealed strong positive correlations in evolution of these behaviors and suggests constraints on the ability of larval anurans to independently modify activity levels in the presence versus absence of predators.

Key words: Anura, behavior, activity, anti-predator behavior, comparative study, tadpoles, phenotypic plasticity.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Exp. Biol.Home page
G. J. Tattersall, P. C. Eterovick, and D. V. de Andrade
Tribute to R. G. Boutilier: Skin colour and body temperature changes in basking Bokermannohyla alvarengai (Bokermann 1956)
J. Exp. Biol., April 1, 2006; 209(7): 1185 - 1196.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.