Morphological and life-history responses of anurans to predation by an invasive crayfish: an integrative approach.

ABSTRACT: Predator-induced phenotypic plasticity has been widely documented in response to native predators, but studies examining the extent to which prey can respond to exotic invasive predators are scarce. As native prey often do not share a long evolutionary history with invasive predators, they may lack defenses against them. This can lead to population declines and even extinctions, making exotic predators a serious threat to biodiversity. Here, in a community-wide study, we examined the morphological and life-history responses of anuran larvae reared with the invasive red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, feeding on conspecific tadpoles. We reared tadpoles of nine species until metamorphosis and examined responses in terms of larval morphology, growth, and development, as well as their deg

SUBMITTER: Nunes AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4020706 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature