Record Details

Wild, Erik Russell
Natural history and resource use of four Amazonian tadpole assemblages
Occasional Papers, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas
1996
Journal Article
176
1-59
Cusco Amazónico tadpoles animals amphibians anurans aquatic habitats animal behavior ecology Salientia Amphibia Vertebrata Chordata Animalia chordates vertebrates diet rainfall water quality inventories fish aquatic invertebrates invertebrates arthropods crustaceans crabs Madre de Dios Bibliography
Four tadpole assemblages were studied during the 1989-90 rainy season at the Reserva Cuzco Amazonico located on the Rio Madre de Dios, in Amazonian Peru. The ponds varied in size, depth, permanency, light penetration, alkalinity, hardness, and number of anuran and non-anuran species present but were similar in water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH. While sets of these characteristics appeared correlated among ponds, none of the characteristics was related to tadpole species richness, evenness, or diversity. Netting sampled 3820 tadpoles of 19 species, plus 1413 individuals of one species of crab, two species of aquatic insects, and 10 species of fish. Patterns of differential use among anuran species were found for most of the resource dimensions. Macrohabitat and time within the rainy season appeared to be the most important resource dimensions, followed by food (represented by ecomorphological guild), microhabitat (level in the water column), and diel time period. Some species demonstrated associations between microhabitat, diel time period, and development. Tadpoles of 25 other anuran species known to occur at Cuzco Amazonico were not encountered. These species probably use other macrohabitats, but not other time periods, because most aquatic habitats exist only during the rainy season. Rainfall seems to be the most influential factor in determining the patterns of resource utilization by tadpoles, because it determines the degree to which the macrohabitats can be utilized temporally.
English
1996 Article English