Size-limited predation on larval Rana areolata ( Anura: Ranidae) by two species of backswimmer (Insecta: Hemiptera: Notonectidae).
Abstract
An individual insect, either Notonecta indica or N. undulata, was exposed to 21 tadpoles from one of 4 tadpole size classes. Predation rate of N. undulata decreased continuously with increasing tadpole size; N. indica did not attack newly hatched tadpoles but consumed considerable numbers of tadpoles in the 2nd size class. The subsequent rate of N. indica predation was a decreasing function of increasing tadpole size.-from Authors
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