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Isocline analysis of competition predicts stable coexistence of two amphibians

Gazzola, Andrea ; Van Buskirk, Josh

In: Oecologia, 2015, vol. 178, no. 1, p. 153-159

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    Titel
    • Isocline analysis of competition predicts stable coexistence of two amphibians
    Autor
    • Gazzola, Andrea. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Van Buskirk, Josh. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
    Dokumententyp
    • Postprint
    Sprache
    • Englisch
    Veröffentlicht in
    • Oecologia, 2015, vol. 178, no. 1, p. 153-159. Springer Berlin Heidelberg
    Andere elektronische Ausgabe
    OAI-PMH-ID
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:331033
    Summary
    We investigated the interaction between larvae of two anuran amphibian species (Rana temporaria and Bufo bufo) to test models of two-species competition. The study had a response surface experimental design with four replicates, each consisting of 24 density combinations. Larval performance—and, by assumption, change in population size—was defined by a linear combination of survival, growth, and development. We fit six competition models from the literature and discovered that density dependence was strongly non-linear, with the highest support for the Hassel-Comins model. Rana temporaria was competitively superior to B. bufo; the impacts of both species on growth and development were about five- to tenfold greater than those on survival. Isocline analysis predicted a stable configuration, which agrees with the observation that these two species are syntopic in nature. The results of this study confirm competition theory by identifying a model structure that agrees with data and making predictions that are broadly supportive of the observations.