Risk Assessment and Anti-Predator Behavior of Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) Tadpoles: A Comparison with Green Frog (Rana clamitans) Tadpoles

Abstract

This study combines three experiments that identify how Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles assess risk from chemical cues produced by larval dragonflies (Anax junius) preying on conspecifics. I also compare the results to previous studies using Green Frog (Rana clamitans) tadpoles. The results suggest that Wood Frog tadpoles largely assess predation risk through Anax chemical cues similarly to Green Frog tadpoles. This is to be expected because the tadpoles are congeneric and both face predation from Anax in the field. However, their behavioral response to a particular level of perceived risk differs. Wood Frog tadpoles reduced their total activity (swimming and feeding) for a shorter time than Green Frog tadpoles. Wood Frog tadpoles also reduced their feeding activity more strongly than their swimming activity during cue exposure. I relate the differences between the behavioral responses of Wood Frog and Green Frog tadpoles to differences in their life-history strategies.