Abstract
The bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus, is one of the most important invasive anurans, affecting especially native anurans due to their similar habits. Here we used a hierarchical co-occurrence model fit in a Bayesian framework to investigate the effects of the bullfrog on two native frog species from southern Brazil, testing the hypothesis that bullfrog presence changes the activity of native species and their relationship with habitat. We found that both occupancy and detection probabilities of native species were similar with bullfrog presence or absence at a site. However, we observed changes in activity and microhabitat use preferences of both native species when the bullfrog was present, suggesting that the presence of the invasive species altered the behavior of the native species. Changes induced by invasive species can result in severe long-term consequences for native species since niche differentiation may not mediate the ability of species to persist together indefinitely.
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05 February 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02416-0
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Acknowledgements
We thank Larissa Bailey, Marc Kéry, John Measey, Camila Both, Caroline Zank, Maria João Pereira and three anonymous reviewers for their comments and Victoria Graves for the English review. We are grateful to our field crew for helping in data collection, and to the landowners that kindly allowed us access to their land. We also thank PPGBAN, Laura Verrastro and Fundação de Apoio da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul for financial support. SS and MG were both supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) with a master and a postdoc (PNPD) scholarship, respectively. This study was conducted during a time of great political and economic difficulty in Brazil. Beyond their substantial cuts to research budgets, we also feel great dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Brazilian government has been attacking environmental agencies, researchers and universities. It is unacceptable to politicize rather than prioritize scientific investigation.
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Stephanie da Silva Silveira and Murilo Guimarães conceived the ideas and designed the experiment, Stephanie da Silva Silveira collected the data, Stephanie da Silva Silveira and Murilo Guimarães analyzed the data and contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.
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Silveira, S.S., Guimarães, M. The enemy within: consequences of the invasive bullfrog on native anuran populations. Biol Invasions 23, 373–378 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02385-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02385-4