Seasonal Patterns of Intraguild Predation and Size Variation among Larval Salamanders in Ephemeral Ponds

Abstract

Abstract Predation among potential competitors, or intraguild predation (IGP), is dependent on size disparities between competing predators and prey and strongly influences the ecology of larval amphibians in ephemeral ponds. Although intraguild prey are hypothesized to exhibit faster growth rates than intraguild predators and, therefore, outgrow predation risk through time, intraguild predation also is associated with significant increases in predator growth rates that are hypothesized to increase the potential for future predation. Given these conflicting hypotheses, how predation among amphibian larvae early in development should influence size disparities and ontogenetic shifts in predation risk is unclear. To clarify the effects of intraguild predation on predator and prey growth, we quantified size variation among larval salamanders (Ambystomatidae) in forested ephemeral ponds while concurrently monitoring seasonal patterns of intraguild predation through gut content analyses. Intraguild predation h...