Phenotypic Plasticity Across Gradients of Predation and Competition in Larval Amphibians

Fuente: Wiley Open Access
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rick A. Relyea, Christine M. Glaude, Jason T. Hoverman
Format: Artículo Open Access
Published: Wiley 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867002241276182528
author Rick A. Relyea
Christine M. Glaude
Jason T. Hoverman
author_facet Rick A. Relyea
Christine M. Glaude
Jason T. Hoverman
Rick A. Relyea
Christine M. Glaude
Jason T. Hoverman
collection Wiley Open Access
contents Phenotypic Plasticity Across Gradients of Predation and Competition in Larval Amphibians Rick A. Relyea Christine M. Glaude Jason T. Hoverman Ecology and Evolution ABSTRACT Phenotypic plasticity allows individuals to produce different traits when they experience different environments. These trait changes are thought to evolve as a result of experiencing environmental variation and fitness tradeoffs among alternative phenotypes. For example, predators and competitors often induce opposite traits, yet a large proportion of plasticity studies have examined 2 × 2 factorial combinations of predator and competitor environments, thereby hindering our understanding of the full shape of reaction norms under different environmental combinations. We examined plastic responses of gray treefrog tadpoles ( Hyla versicolor ) when raised under 25 combinations of predation risk and competition intensity. We discovered that tadpole mass was affected by competition and a competition‐by‐predator interaction. Both factors affected tadpole behavior (number seen and activity) in a continuous fashion, but only the number seen exhibited interactive effects, with responses to predators weakening under high competition. Changes in relative (i.e., mass‐adjusted) morphology were also continuous; predator cues induced relatively deeper tailfins and deeper bodies, while competition induced relatively shallower tailfins and tail muscles, longer and shallower bodies, and wider mouths. Predation and competition caused mostly additive effects on morphology; the exception was relative tail depth, which responded more strongly to increased predation risk under low competition than under high competition. While our results suggest that predators and competitors induce traits in opposing directions and in a continuous manner, only a subset exhibits interactive effects. 10.1002/ece3.73349 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
doi_str_mv 10.1002/ece3.73349
format Artículo Open Access
id wiley_oa_10_1002_ece3_73349
institution Wiley Open Access
license_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
publishDate 2026
publisher Wiley
record_format wiley_oa
spellingShingle Phenotypic Plasticity Across Gradients of Predation and Competition in Larval Amphibians
Rick A. Relyea
Christine M. Glaude
Jason T. Hoverman
Ecology and Evolution
Phenotypic Plasticity Across Gradients of Predation and Competition in Larval Amphibians Rick A. Relyea Christine M. Glaude Jason T. Hoverman Ecology and Evolution ABSTRACT Phenotypic plasticity allows individuals to produce different traits when they experience different environments. These trait changes are thought to evolve as a result of experiencing environmental variation and fitness tradeoffs among alternative phenotypes. For example, predators and competitors often induce opposite traits, yet a large proportion of plasticity studies have examined 2 × 2 factorial combinations of predator and competitor environments, thereby hindering our understanding of the full shape of reaction norms under different environmental combinations. We examined plastic responses of gray treefrog tadpoles ( Hyla versicolor ) when raised under 25 combinations of predation risk and competition intensity. We discovered that tadpole mass was affected by competition and a competition‐by‐predator interaction. Both factors affected tadpole behavior (number seen and activity) in a continuous fashion, but only the number seen exhibited interactive effects, with responses to predators weakening under high competition. Changes in relative (i.e., mass‐adjusted) morphology were also continuous; predator cues induced relatively deeper tailfins and deeper bodies, while competition induced relatively shallower tailfins and tail muscles, longer and shallower bodies, and wider mouths. Predation and competition caused mostly additive effects on morphology; the exception was relative tail depth, which responded more strongly to increased predation risk under low competition than under high competition. While our results suggest that predators and competitors induce traits in opposing directions and in a continuous manner, only a subset exhibits interactive effects. 10.1002/ece3.73349 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Phenotypic Plasticity Across Gradients of Predation and Competition in Larval Amphibians
topic Ecology and Evolution
url https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.73349