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KMID : 1161520130170020127
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Animal Cells and Systems
2013 Volume.17 No. 2 p.127 ~ p.132
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Differential response to abiotic conditions, predation risk, and competition determine breeding site selection by two anuran species
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Yu Tong Lei
Guo Yan Shu
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Abstract
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Sympatry of species has been a central debate in ecology for decades but the mechanisms that allow coexistence are still heatedly disputed. The main paradigms include the importance of abiotic conditions, predation risk, and competition as determinants of community structure. In this study, we investigated oviposition-site selection of two anuran species, Asiatic toads (Bufo gargarizans) and dark-spotted frogs (Pelophylax nigromaculata), which coexist in southwestern China. We sampled the abiotic and biotic attributes of 36 B. gargarizans breeding sites and 34 adjacent unused sites, and 30 P. Nigromaculata spawning sites and 36 nearby unused sites. Our results showed that these two anuran species differed in the use of the main habitat types. B. gargarizans selected larger spawning sites with low levels of disturbance, high dissolved oxygen content, and the presence of fish. Conversely, P. nigromaculata preferred smaller waterbodies that were shallow, clear, and free of fish and B. gargarizans tadpoles. We conclude that differential habitat use and differences in response to abiotic conditions, predation risk, and competition, contributes to facilitating local coexistence and high species diversity in pond communities.
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KEYWORD
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Bufo gargarizans, Pelophylax nigromaculata, spawning site, interspecific competition
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