Meeting Abstract

41.3  Sunday, Jan. 5 10:45  The role of burst-swimming performance in relation to cannibalistic interactions of Green Poison Frog larvae (Dendrobates auratus) WILCOX, S.C.*; LAPPIN, A.K.; California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona; California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona swilc002@ucr.edu

Whole-animal performance characteristics are important in determining the outcomes of agonistic interactions, particularly intraspecific interactions. Cannibalism is an intraspecific agonistic interaction for which winners may be expected to exhibit superior performance in characteristics relevant to such behavior. The larvae of the Green Poison Frog (Dendrobates auratus) exhibit cannibalistic behavior in which “fast-starts” (i.e., high velocity and acceleration from a resting position) are used in attempts to bite and avoid being bitten by conspecifics. We tested the hypothesis that superior fast-start swimming performance is related to winning cannibalistic interactions between similarly sized individuals. Fast-starts by larvae were imaged with a high-speed camera, and pairs of size-matched individuals then underwent interaction trials to determine whether swimming performance is associated with winning a cannibalistic interaction. Linear acceleration of the snout tip, approximating the position of the mouthparts used to attack an opponent, was significantly greater in winners than losers. At the estimated center of mass, generally representing a target for an attacking opponent, linear velocity and acceleration were significantly greater in winners than losers. Understanding the role of performance in intraspecific interactions can help elucidate how such interactions contribute to drive morphological and behavioral evolution.