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Divergent responses of exposed and naive Pacific tree frog tadpoles to invasive predatory crayfish

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Abstract

Invasive predators can devastate native species and ecosystems. However, native species may be able to coexist with invasive predators through a variety of mechanisms, such as changes in morphology or behavior due to a plastic response or selection on fixed anti-predator traits. We examined whether exposed and naive populations of Pacific tree frog tadpoles (Pseudacris regilla) display divergent morphological and behavioral traits in response to the invasive predatory red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). Tadpoles were collected from three study streams with and three without crayfish, in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. We analyzed tadpole morphology and tested anti-predator behavior and survival in the laboratory. Tadpoles from streams with crayfish had shallower, narrower tails than tadpoles from streams without crayfish. Tadpoles from streams with and without crayfish were less active after exposure to crayfish chemical cues. The divergent morphology of naive and exposed tadpoles is consistent with tadpoles exhibiting a plastic response to crayfish or undergoing selection from crayfish predation. In laboratory predation experiments, we found no difference in survival between tadpoles from streams with and without crayfish but tadpoles that survived predation had deeper tail muscles than those that were killed or injured. Our results suggest that deeper tails are advantageous in the presence of crayfish, yet tadpoles from crayfish streams had shallower tails than those from crayfish-free streams. Shallower tails may have an alternative unmeasured advantage or there may be a physiological constraint to developing deeper tails in the wild. These results highlight the ability of a native frog to respond to an invasive predatory crayfish, potentially allowing for coexistence.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the field and laboratory assistants who assisted on this project, particularly Karina Klonoski, Tim Wen, and Alli Quan. Malcolm Gordon kindly provided us with space and equipment for laboratory experiments. We would also like to thank the agencies that allowed us to collect and gave us access to their land: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California Department of Fish and Game, California State Parks, Mountains Restoration Trust, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, and University of California Natural Reserve System. We thank the following funding sources: Pauley Fellowship, Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant, UCLA SEE-LA NSF GK-12 Fellowship, Fleming Family Foundation, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at UCLA. Katherine Pease would like to thank her doctoral committee: Bob Wayne, Lee Kats, Greg Grether, Seth Riley, and Tom Smith.

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  1. Katherine M. Pease

    Present address: Heal the Bay, 1444 9th Street, Santa Monica, CA, 90401, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Katherine M. Pease & Robert K. Wayne

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  1. Katherine M. Pease
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  2. Robert K. Wayne
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Correspondence to Katherine M. Pease.

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Communicated by Steven Kohler.

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Pease, K.M., Wayne, R.K. Divergent responses of exposed and naive Pacific tree frog tadpoles to invasive predatory crayfish. Oecologia 174, 241–252 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2745-1

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