Behavioral Responses of Bufo Arenarum Tadpoles to Odonate Naiad Predation

—In the presence of predators, anuran tadpoles often exhibit behavioral plasticity, which in turn reduces predation risk. We evaluated indirect effects of odonate larva predation on activity of Bufo arenarum tadpoles. We reared intact and tail-damaged larvae in three different predator treatments: (1) caged predators fed tadpoles; (2) caged predators that were starved; and (3) no predators. Both intact and damaged tadpoles were significantly less active when exposed to predator cues. There were no differences in activity between tadpoles with damaged and intact tails, however significant differences were observed between fed and starved predator treatments. Our results are consistent with other studies that have shown bufonid tadpoles reduce activity when exposed to predator cues and address a novel contribution of southern-hemisphere bufonid, expanding the knowledge of that family in ecological experiments.