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Consequences and causes of geographic variation in the body size of a keystone predator,Notophthalmus viridescens
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Kurzava, Lynn M. Morin, Peter J. |
| Copyright Year | 2004 |
| Abstract | Two subspecies of the predatory aquatic salamanderNotophthalmus, N. viridescens viridescens andN. v. dorsalis, differ in adult body size and geographic distribution. We tested whether experimental populations of the two predator subspecies differed in their effects on prey populations ofB. americanus, and whether observed differences in predator body size were genetic and/or environmentally induced. We compared the effects of predation by bothNotophthalmus subspecies on larvalBufo americanus by experimentally manipulating the densities (0, 2, or 4 newts/m3) and subspecies ofNotophthalmus (N. v. viridescens orN. v. dorsalis) added to artificial ponds. BothNotophthalmus subspecies significantly redě»›. americanus survival, but differed significantly in this effect. FewerBufo survived with the larger subspecies,N. v. viridescens, than with the smallerNotophthalmus subspecies,N. v. dorsalis. TheNotophthalmus subspecies differed in their patterns of adult and larval growth. Adults of the smaller subspecies,N. v. dorsalis, had a significantly higher growth rate than the larger subspecies,N. v. viridescens, under common environmental conditions, suggesting that differences in predator size were partly genetic, rather than entirely environmentally induced. LarvalN. v. dorsalis metamorphosed significantly later in the season than larvae ofN. v. viridescens, suggesting that larvalN. v. dorsalis had a lower growth rate than larvalN. v. viridescens. Differences in adult and larval growth, together with differences in the minimum adult size observed in natural populations, suggest that differences in the rate or duration of pre-adult growth may contribute substantially to observed differences in size. |
| Starting Page | 271 |
| Ending Page | 280 |
| Page Count | 10 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.1007/BF00627739 |
| PubMed reference number | 28313881 |
| Journal | Medline |
| Volume Number | 99 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://page-one.springer.com/pdf/preview/10.1007/BF00627739 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00627739 |
| Journal | Oecologia |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
