Tadpoles have diverse morphologies and occupy diverse habitats. The morphological differences between tadpoles can be represented
by linear and geometric measurements and used to explain the organization of tadpole assemblages. However, the effects of evolutionary
history must be isolated from the morphological differences before we can determine which patterns result from the use and sharing of
common ecological resources. Here, we aimed to determine how morphological similarities and phylogenetic distances affect microhabitat
choice by tadpoles. We analyzed the tadpoles of 101 anuran species and classified them according to ecomorphological guild, habitat
use, position in the water column, and floor substrate. We used geometric and traditional morphometric approaches to describe the
morphological variation among tadpoles and calculated the patristic distance for each species. Afterwards, we used morphometric and
phylogenetic matrices as predictors of the variance in the ecological matrix, using a partial redundancy analysis. When we used traditional
morphometric data, phylogeny explained a large amount of the ecological variation. By contrast, when we used geometric morphometric
data, morphology and phylogeny explained similar amounts of the ecological variation, showing that the technique used to extract morphological
variation affects the results. We provide evidence that both morphology, as a surrogate for contemporary factors, and evolutionary
inertia are important in determining the behavior of tadpoles. Thus, niche conservatism can be important in modeling the
behavior of tadpoles, but does not explain all the preferences of tadpoles.
Tadpoles have diverse morphologies and occupy diverse habitats. The morphological differences between tadpoles can be representedby linear and geometric measurements and used to explain the organization of tadpole assemblages. However, the effects of evolutionaryhistory must be isolated from the morphological differences before we can determine which patterns result from the use and sharing ofcommon ecological resources. Here, we aimed to determine how morphological similarities and phylogenetic distances affect microhabitatchoice by tadpoles. We analyzed the tadpoles of 101 anuran species and classified them according to ecomorphological guild, habitatuse, position in the water column, and floor substrate. We used geometric and traditional morphometric approaches to describe themorphological variation among tadpoles and calculated the patristic distance for each species. Afterwards, we used morphometric andphylogenetic matrices as predictors of the variance in the ecological matrix, using a partial redundancy analysis. When we used traditionalmorphometric data, phylogeny explained a large amount of the ecological variation. By contrast, when we used geometric morphometricdata, morphology and phylogeny explained similar amounts of the ecological variation, showing that the technique used to extract morphologicalvariation affects the results. We provide evidence that both morphology, as a surrogate for contemporary factors, and evolutionaryinertia are important in determining the behavior of tadpoles. Thus, niche conservatism can be important in modeling thebehavior of tadpoles, but does not explain all the preferences of tadpoles.
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