Data Package Summary    View Full Metadata

Ecologists recently have been focusing on the role that trait-mediated indirect

effects can have on community structure and composition. To date, this work has primarily

focused on the effects of predator-induced behavioral plasticity on communities. However,

predator-induced morphological plasticity, which has been documented in many taxa, might

also lead to trait-mediated indirect effects. Here, I examined how predators altered the

behavior and morphology of larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) and leopard frogs (R.

pipiens) and how these phenotypic changes altered the outcome of competition between

the two species.

Competition in the absence of caged predators was asymmetric; when reared separately,

leopard frogs grew more than wood frogs, but when competing (without predators), wood

frogs grew faster than leopard frogs. The presence of caged predators reversed the outcome

of competition between the two anuran prey. In the presence of larval dragonflies (Anax

spp.) or caged mudminnows (Umbra limi), leopard frogs grew faster than wood frogs while

total tadpole biomass production remained unchanged. Thus, there was a predator-mediated

indirect effect.

Because predators alter both the behavior and morphology of larval anurans and both

of these traits are known to affect resource consumption and growth, both are potential

mechanisms to explain the change in competitive outcome. Changes in behavior were not

related to changes in growth, but changes in morphology (specifically mouth width and

tail length) were related to changes in growth. When competitors were added (without

predators), wood frogs increased their mouth width by 10% and their tail length by 3%,

while leopard frogs increased their mouth width by 5% and did not change their tail length.

The greater increase in mouth width for wood frogs should increase their forage intake,

since tadpoles feed by scraping periphyton; the importance of a 3% longer tail in competitive

ability is unknown. The presence of the predator threat (via chemical cues from the caged

predators) reduced both the mouth width and tail length in the two prey species to precompetition

levels. This response corresponded with the reduced competitive ability of the

wood frogs. This work demonstrates that both competitors and predators can alter prey

morphology and suggests that changes in morphology can cause trait-mediated indirect

effects.