Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Predator Mediated Selection And The Impact Of Developmental Stage On Viability In Wood Frog Tadpoles (Rana Sylvatica), Ryan Calsbeek, Shawn Kuchta

Dartmouth Scholarship

Complex life histories require adaptation of a single organism for multiple ecological niches. Transitions between life stages, however, may expose individuals to an increased risk of mortality, as the process of metamorphosis typically includes developmental stages that function relatively poorly in both the pre- and post-metamorphic habitat. We studied predator-mediated selection on tadpoles of the wood frog, Rana sylvatica, to identify this hypothesized period of differential predation risk and estimate its ontogenetic onset. We reared tadpoles in replicated mesocosms in the presence of the larval odonate Anax junius, a known tadpole predator.