Presence of an alien turtle accelerates hatching of common frog (Rana temporaria) tadpoles

By

Vodrážková, Magda
Šetlíková, Irena
Navrátil, Josef
Berec, Michal

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022

Original Publication

NeoBiota : advancing research on alien species and biological invasions

Volume

74

Pages

155--169

Subjects

Antipredator defence , Embryonic development , invasive predator , predation risk , predator-cued hatching , Rana temporaria , Trachemys scripta elegans

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sophia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.74.82250

 

Abstract

The presence of a predator affects prey populations either by direct predation or by modifying various parts of their life history. We investigated whether the hatching time, developmental stage, and body size at hatching of common frog (Rana temporaria) embryos would alter in the presence of a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) as a predator. The presence of a predator affected all factors examined. We found that in the absence of the slider, the embryos hatched in 12 days, while hatching was accelerated by two days in slider treatment. At the same time, the embryos hatched smaller and at a lower stage of development with the slider than without it. Our study extends the range of predators studied, including the effect on different phases of development of potential amphibian prey.