COS 137-1
When African clawed frogs invade: Indirect interactions between native and invasive amphibians
Invasive species have caused severe declines in biodiversity globally, particularly in amphibian populations. The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), a popular biological study organism, has established invasive populations outside of its natural range, including throughout southern California; however, little is known concerning its impacts on native ecosystems. My work explores the effects of African clawed frogs and their potential to cause indirect behavioral responses in native California amphibian species. Pacific treefrog larvae and adults are known to respond to the presence of potential predators by reducing foraging activities and spatial avoidance, respectively; however, it is not certain California amphibian species will perceive the novel African clawed frog as a potential predator. I performed lab- and field-based experiments to determine if larval and adult Pacific treefrogs will exhibit these behaviors in response to the presence of adult African clawed frogs.
Results/Conclusions
Both adult and larval stages of Pacific treefrogs exhibit predator avoidance behavioral responses to the presence of African clawed frogs. Larval Pacific treefrogs reduced their activity levels 20% when in the presence of an African clawed frog. In addition, adult Pacific treefrogs actively avoided the side of enclosures that harbored an African clawed frog. These findings suggest that California amphibians may benefit from innate predator avoidance response in areas where the African clawed frog has invaded but further research exploring the predation rates and disease transmission potential of the clawed frog is necessary to more fully evaluate the potential impacts of this invasive species on native amphibians.