Toreducetheinfluence ofthevariabilitybetweenpairsinthis
first study,tadpoleswerecollectedinasingleclutchfromonlyone
pair.Theclutchwasobtainedduringthespring,2008,under
outdoor conditionsfromapairmaintainedincaptivityina
landscaped pond.Theeggsweremaintainedundernaturaltem-
peratureandphotoperiodconditions.Hatchingtookplace15day
aftertheeggswerelaid.Assoonastadpolesreachedstage25
(Gosner,1960), theywerecounted,weighedandplacedintanks
under variousexperimentalconditions.Thetankswerekeptunder
controlledconditionsoftemperature,light,humidityanddis-
solvedoxygen.Undigestedfoodparticlesandfeceswereremoved
by suctiontwiceperday.Duringthetotalchangeofwater(oncea
week),tadpoleswerecapturedwithadipnetandplacedtem-
porarilyinatrayof10lofwaterfromtheoriginaltank(same
temperature).Betweenemptyingand filling, thetankswerewell
cleaned withabrushandwaterchlorinatedat5%andthenrinsed
with tapwater.Duringthistimethetadpolesweredrainedon
paper towelsandthenweighedtothenearest0.01g.Tempera-
tures intankswereagainadjustedbeforereplacingthetadpoles.
The rearingperiodwasspreadover12weeksanddiscontinued
when mostoftheaquariumsnolongershowedanytadpoles,but
only metamorphs.
The survivalrateandstageofdevelopmentweredetermined
relativetoarrivalatstage45correspondingtotheendof