Differences in Larval Allometry among Three Ambystomatid Salamanders

Anderson, Thomas L.; Ousterhout, Brittany H.; Drake, Dana L.; Burkhart, Jacob J.; Rowland, Freya E.; Peterman, William E.; Semlitsch, Raymond D.

doi:10.1670/15-178

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 40 publications

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“…We hereafter focus on larval tank‐averaged HW because it was not always possible to assess SVL from dorsal photographs if back legs were absent. However, it should be noted that HW and SVL are highly correlated in Ambystoma larvae (Anderson et al , ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of phenological variability in a predatory larval salamander on pond food webs

et al. 2019

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Phenological shifts are expected to affect species interactions, in part by influencing which size classes, life stages or species occur simultaneously in a community. Yet, changes in phenology beyond shifts to the first, mean or median date of an ontogenetic event are underexplored in their importance to community dynamics. Using outdoor mesocosms, we experimentally mimicked increasing variability in breeding phenology of a top predatory salamander in pond food webs (Ambystoma annulatum) to assess its impacts on its own demographic traits and survival. We also tested whether variability in predator breeding would cascade to impact survival and diversity of lower trophic levels (intermediate salamander predators, anuran tadpoles, zooplankton and periphyton). We found that only variability in body size at metamorphosis of A. annulatum was impacted by phenological manipulations, with size variability being greater at higher levels of phenological variability. Because size at metamorphosis is often correlated with adult fitness, covarying variability in body size and phenology may lead to altered population dynamics. We also found that the density and size of A. annulatum were better predictors of overall survival and diversity of amphibian prey compared to phenological variability. We speculate that overwintering mortality of A. annulatum due to pond freezing modulated the impacts of phenological variability, such that changes in demographic traits and cascading effects throughout the food web were mollified.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of phenological variability in a predatory larval salamander on pond food webs

et al. 2019

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Variation in phenology and density differentially affects predator–prey interactions between salamanders

2017

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Variation in the timing of breeding (i.e., phenological variation) can affect species interactions and community structure, in part by shifting body size differences between species. Body size differences can be further altered by density-dependent competition, though synergistic effects of density and phenology on species interactions are rarely evaluated. We tested how field-realistic variation in phenology and density affected ringed salamander (Ambystoma annulatum) predation on spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum), and whether these altered salamander dynamics resulted in trophic cascades. In outdoor mesocosms, we experimentally manipulated ringed salamander density (low/high) and breeding phenology (early/late) of both species. Ringed salamander body size at metamorphosis, development, and growth were reduced at higher densities, while delayed phenology increased hatchling size and larval development, but reduced relative growth rates. Survival of ringed salamanders was affected by the interactive effects of phenology and density. In contrast, spotted salamander growth, size at metamorphosis, and survival, as well as the biomass of lower trophic levels, were negatively affected primarily by ringed salamander density. In an additional mesocosm experiment, we isolated whether ringed salamanders could deplete shared resources prior to their interactions with spotted salamanders, but instead found direct interactions (e.g., predation) were the more likely mechanism by which ringed salamanders limited spotted salamanders. Overall, our results indicate the effects of phenological variability on fitness-related traits can be modified or superseded by differences in density dependence. Identifying such context dependencies will lead to greater insight into when phenological variation will likely alter species interactions.

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Direct effects influence larval salamander size and density more than indirect effects

et al. 2021

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Differences in Larval Allometry among Three Ambystomatid Salamanders

Cited by 5 publications

References 40 publications

Impacts of phenological variability in a predatory larval salamander on pond food webs

Impacts of phenological variability in a predatory larval salamander on pond food webs

Variation in phenology and density differentially affects predator–prey interactions between salamanders

Direct effects influence larval salamander size and density more than indirect effects

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