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A Predation Deterrent in Larvae of the Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana
Author(s) -
Kruse Kipp C.,
Francis Michael G.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1977)106<248:apdilo>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - bullfrog , leopard frog , lepomis , biology , rana , micropterus , larva , predation , bass (fish) , zoology , amphibian , fishery , ecology , anatomy
Larvae of the striped chorus frog (Pseudacris triseriata), plains leopard frog (Rana blairi), northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens), and spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus bombifrons), were readily accepted as food by three fish predators (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides; green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus; and the black bullhead, Ictalurus melas). In contrast, tadpoles of the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), were accepted only rarely by bass and sunfish and not at all by bullheads. Preference experiments demonstrate that bass prefer Rana blairi larvae to Rana catesbeiana larvae, and if provided with sufficient numbers of Rana blairi larvae, almost totally refuse bullfrog tadpoles. The data suggest existence of an inverse relationship between the permanency of larval frog habitat and larval frog palatability.