Predator-prey size interaction in tropical ponds

• Autor(a) principal: Gascon,Claude
• Data de Publicação: 1989
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Zoologia (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-81751989000400016

An experiment was set-up to see in mortality inflicted by tadpole predators depends on prey and predator sizes. Fish and dragonfly larvae were used as predators and two size classes of Osteocephalus taurinus tadpoles as prey. Results show that the effect of predators is dependent on the size structure of the prey population. Furthermore, dragonfly larvae are more voracious predators than the fish used in the experiment. Both predators occur in natural ponds where Osteocephalus taurinus lays its eggs. The timing of arrival of predators and prey, which determines the relative sizes of predators and prey, is an important factor determining the outcome of an episode of community interaction in tropical ponds, as in similar temperate systems.