The constant threat from a non-native predator increases tail muscle and fast-start swimming performance in Xenopus tadpoles

Correction: The constant threat from a non-native predator increases tail muscle and fast-start swimming performance in <italic>Xenopus</italic> tadpoles

Predator-induced phenotypic plasticity is the ability of prey to adapt to their native predator. However, owing to environmental changes, encounters with unknown predators are inevitable. Therefore, study of prey and non-native predator interaction will reveal the primary stages of adaptive strategies in prey-predator interactions in the context of evolutionary processes. Here, Xenopus tadpoles...

Correction: The constant threat from a non-native predator increases tail muscle and fast-start swimming performance in Xenopus tadpoles

Naturally occurring variation in tadpole morphology and performance linked to predator regime

Divergent natural selection drives a considerable amount of the phenotypic and genetic variation observed in natural populations. For example, variation in the predator community can generate conflicting selection on behavioral, life-history, morphological, and performance traits. Differences in predator regime can subsequently increase phenotypic and genetic variations in the population and re...

The Kinematics of Swimming in Larvae of the Clawed Frog, Xenopus Laevis

The kinematics of swimming in larval Xenopus laevis has been studied using computer-assisted analysis of high-speed (200 frames s") cine' records. The major findings are as follows. 1. At speeds below 6 body lengths (L) per second, tail beat frequency is approximately 10 Hz and, unlike for most aquatic vertebrates, is not correlated with specific swimming speed. At higher speeds, tail beat freq...

Form, function, and fitness: pathways to survival.

Two hypotheses have been considered in the literature regarding how anuran morphology reduces predation risk: by (1) improving escape swimming performance, or (2) using the tail as a lure to draw predator strikes away from the body of the tadpole. We investigated these hypotheses using a modification of the morphology, performance, and fitness path analysis of Arnold (1983, Am. Zool. 23:347-361...