The effects of novel leaf litter deposition on competitive, predator–prey and host–parasite interactions of American toad larvae.

Autor: DiGiacopo, Devin G., Hua, Jessica
Zdroj: Aquatic Ecology; Mar2022, Vol. 56 Issue 1, p59-73, 15p
Abstrakt: Wetland plant communities are changing rapidly due to a wide range of human activities. The deposition of leaf litter from novel plant communities can alter both the chemical and physical habitat of aquatic ecosystems. Lesser understood are the ecological consequences of novel leaf litter inputs in aquatic communities. Toward this goal, we used two plant invasion scenarios (comparing native black huckleberry to exotic autumn olive and native swamp loosestrife to exotic purple loosestrife) to simulate a shift in wetland plant communities. In this study, we investigated the effects of novel leaf litter leachates on three aquatic ecological interactions: intraspecific competition, predation and parasitism. We examined how leaf litter leachates influence the interactions of American toad larvae (Anaxyrus americanus) with their conspecifics, a dragonfly predator (Anax spp.) and a trematode parasite (Echinostomatidae). We found that leaf litter type influenced competitive interactions only for the huckleberry versus autumn olive comparison. We did not detect any effects of leaf litter type on predator–prey interactions. Finally, litter type strongly influenced host–parasite interactions for both leaf litter comparisons, altering host susceptibility, parasite survival and net infection rates. These results highlight the breadth of potential ecological repercussions of shifting wetland plant communities for native ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index
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