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Wasp predation drives the assembly of fungal and fly communities on frog egg masses

  • Community ecology
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Abstract

Community ecology aims to understand how species interactions shape species diversity and abundance. Although less studied than predatory or competitive interactions, facilitative interactions can be important in communities associated with ephemeral microhabitats. Successful recruitment from these habitats requires species to rapidly colonize, develop, and disperse during brief periods of habitat suitability. Interactions between organisms, including processing chain interactions whereby initial consumers alter resources in ways that improve their quality for subsequent consumers, could aid these processes. The terrestrial egg masses of red-eyed treefrogs (Agalychnis callidryas) are a resource for predatory wasps (Agelaia spp., Polybia rejecta) and a microhabitat and resource for saprovoric and pathogenic fungi and saprovoric flies (Megaselia spp., Psychoda savaiiensis). We investigate how interactions with wasps might facilitate fly and fungal colonization of and survival on frog egg masses. Our results indicate that wasps facilitate fungal colonization, whereas flies appear not to, and that both wasps and fungi generate frog egg carrion that attracts saprovoric flies to oviposit and increases the survival of fly larvae. While studies of colonization order often focus on inhibition by early colonizers of subsequent arrivals, this study demonstrates how early colonizers can facilitate the establishment of later ones, by modifying resources in ways that promote the location of and survival in habitat patches. This research draws attention to the diversity of interactions that can occur within ephemeral communities and emphasizes the role that positive interactions may play. Processing chain interactions may be a generally important mechanism increasing the diversity of local communities, including very ephemeral ones.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for laboratory space and logistical support, and W. Wcislo and M. J. West-Eberhard for advice. B. Brown identified flies. J. Touchon and three anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on the manuscript. Animal use and collection was permitted by the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente of Panama (ANAM permits SE/A-54-06 and SE/A-41-08) and approved by the Boston University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committeee (IACUC protocols 05-022 and 08-011). This work was funded by the National Science Foundation (grants IOB-0234439, DEB-0716923, DEB-0717220, DEB-0910270), a Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration Award, an American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Gaige Fund Award, Boston University, and a short-term fellowship from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

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Author notes

  1. Myra C. Hughey

    Present address: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal, 0843-03092, Panamá, República de Panamá

  2. Angie Nicolás

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 4200-6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, BC, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Myra C. Hughey, Angie Nicolás & Karen M. Warkentin

  2. Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 West Cary Street, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA

    James R. Vonesh

  3. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal, 0843-03092, Panamá, República de Panamá

    Karen M. Warkentin

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  1. Myra C. Hughey
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Correspondence to Myra C. Hughey.

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Communicated by Jason Tylianakis.

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Hughey, M.C., Nicolás, A., Vonesh, J.R. et al. Wasp predation drives the assembly of fungal and fly communities on frog egg masses. Oecologia 168, 1057–1068 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2137-3

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