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Multistage density dependence in an amphibian

  • Population Ecology
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Abstract

Density dependence is the major process keeping the sizes of natural populations within bounds. In organisms with complex life cycles, the stage at which density dependence occurs and whether it occurs in one or several life stages have important consequences for the dynamics of their populations. I manipulated density of pool frogs (Rana lessonae) during the aquatic larval and the terrestrial juvenile stages and examined the effect on growth and survival until 1 year of age. High larval density, but not high juvenile density, led to smaller size at this age. Both larval and juvenile density led to reduced growth during the early juvenile stage, but the effect of the larval density appeared stronger than the effect of juvenile density. No density dependence in survival could be found. My results suggest that density dependence in both the larval and the terrestrial juvenile stage may play important roles in the regulation and dynamics of amphibian populations.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Sonja Angelone, Martina Arioli, Attila Hettyey, and Beni Schmidt for their help with the field work. Brad Anholt, Barbara Hellriegel, Uli Reyer, Beni Schmidt, Josh Van Buskirk, and three anonymous referees gave helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. This work was supported by Swiss NF grant No. 31–40688.94 to H.-U. Reyer and No. 81ZH-68483 to R. A.

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  1. Res Altwegg

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8 W 3N5, Canada

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  1. Institute of Zoology, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland

    Res Altwegg

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Altwegg, R. Multistage density dependence in an amphibian. Oecologia 136, 46–50 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1248-x

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