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Isocline analysis of competition predicts stable coexistence of two amphibians

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

Funding came from the Swiss NSF and the Erasmus Student Placement Program.

Ethical approval

All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Ethics permits were provided by the Veterinary Office of Canton Zurich, and permits to collect the animals came from the Canton’s Office for Landscape and Nature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Andrea Gazzola & Josh Van Buskirk

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Andrea Gazzola

Authors
  1. Andrea Gazzola
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  2. Josh Van Buskirk
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Josh Van Buskirk.

Additional information

Communicated by Steven Kohler.

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Gazzola, A., Van Buskirk, J. Isocline analysis of competition predicts stable coexistence of two amphibians. Oecologia 178, 153–159 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3273-y

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