On the Advantages of Putative Cannibalism in American Toad Tadpoles (Bufo A. Americanus): Is It Active or Passive and Why?

Heinen, Joel T., Abdella, Jennifer A., The American Midland Naturalist

ABSTRACT.-

We performed two experiments to address the questions of whether toad tadpoles (Bufo a. americanus): (1) gain an advantage from consuming conspecifics and (2) engage in active cannibalism as opposed to scavenging. Our results show that tadpoles fed algal mats (and associated debris found within them) from their natal pond and supplemented on the bodies of dead tadpoles for 28 d attained an average of 5 more stages of development than tadpoles fed only on algal mats, which suggests a strong advantage to eating conspecifics. No tadpoles fed algal mats died, which suggests that this is an adequate food source. In a series of trials used to address the second question, we …

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Publication information: Article title: On the Advantages of Putative Cannibalism in American Toad Tadpoles (Bufo A. Americanus): Is It Active or Passive and Why?. Contributors: Heinen, Joel T. - Author, Abdella, Jennifer A. - Author. Journal title: The American Midland Naturalist. Volume: 153. Issue: 2 Publication date: April 2005. Page number: 338+. © 1995 University of Notre Dame, Department of Biological Sciences. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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