Salamanders impact on L. externus population densities

Abstract

The caddisfly L. externus has been observed to have a decline in population density over the summer months as the larvae develop. However this pattern has not been formally tested, so collecting population density data is important for future research and understanding changes in densities over time. At the Mexican Cut, L. externus is common prey to tiger salamanders which may impact the magnitude of the density decline. This leads us to the question: How does the population number of L. externus decline over time in ponds with and without salamander predation? My hypothesis is the L. externus population density will decline at a steeper rate in ponds with salamanders than those without salamanders. Eight ponds were sampled with four being salamander and the other half being non salamander. The results found were that in the salamander ponds there was a steeper slope but a higher abundance at the beginning and in the non salamander ponds there was still a slope but significantly, statistically different (P<0.05).

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