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Article
Behavior and Ecological Interactions of Larval Odonata
Ecology (1985)
  • Clay L. Pierce, University of Kentucky
  • Philip H. Crowley, University of Kentucky
  • Dan M. Johnson, East Tennessee State University
Abstract
Enallagma aspersum and E. traviatum (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) are the most abundant larval odonates in Bays Mountain Park (Sullivan County, Tennessee, USA), although their spatial distributions are essentially nonoverlapping. E. traviatum coexists with insectivorous fish in a small lake, whereas E. aspersum is restricted to a small fishless pond nearby. Behavioral observations revealed that E. aspersum larvae were more active than E. traviatum, and tended to occupy more conspicuous positions. E. aspersum also engaged in more confrontations than E. traviatum, especially at higher density. In laboratorye xperimentsw ith juvenile bluegills( Lepomism acrochirusa) s predators,E . aspersum larvae were more vulnerable to predation than E. traviatum. Red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) also preyed on E. aspersum disproportionately. Field enclosure experiments revealed that dry mass of individual E. aspersum larvae was density dependent, and that increased density of E. aspersum or addition of E. traviatum produced similar reductions. Competition was asymmetrical, as E. aspersum appeared to have no significant effect on E. traviatum. The substantial increase in confrontations among E. aspersum larvae at higher density, and the lack of evidence for prey depletion, suggest that interference may be the mechanism of competition. Our results suggest that the distribution of E. aspersum larvae may be limited by fish predation, but although competitive interactions were detected, we have no evidence that larval competition influences the distribution of either species.
Keywords
  • behavior,
  • benthic,
  • community structure,
  • competition,
  • damselfly,
  • Enallagma,
  • interference,
  • littoral,
  • Odonata,
  • predation
Publication Date
October, 1985
Publisher Statement
This article is from Ecology 66 (1985): 1504. Copyright by the Ecological Society of America.
Citation Information
Clay L. Pierce, Philip H. Crowley and Dan M. Johnson. "Behavior and Ecological Interactions of Larval Odonata" Ecology Vol. 66 Iss. 5 (1985)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/clay_pierce/29/