Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Impacts of a gape limited Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, on larval Northwestern salamander, Ambystoma gracile, growth: A field enclosure experiment

January 1, 2007

The formation of amphibian population structure is directly affected by predation. Although aquatic predators have been shown to have direct negative effects on larval salamanders in laboratory and field experiments, the potential impacts of gape-limited fish on larval salamander growth has been largely underexplored. We designed an enclosure experiment conducted in situ to quantify the effects of gape-limited Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) on larval Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile) growth. We specifically tested whether the presence of fish too small to consume larvae had a negative effect on larval growth. The results of this study indicate that the presence of a gape-limited S. fontinalis can have a negative effect on growth of larval A. gracile salamanders. Copyright 2007 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.

Publication Year 2007
Title Impacts of a gape limited Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, on larval Northwestern salamander, Ambystoma gracile, growth: A field enclosure experiment
DOI 10.1670/0022-1511(2007)41[321:IOAGLB]2.0.CO;2
Authors C.R. Currens, W.J. Liss, R.L. Hoffman
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Journal of Herpetology
Index ID 70029871
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center