https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Index en-au 5 https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:4332 Wed 11 Apr 2018 11:35:34 AEST ]]> https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:46135 Hydaticus parallelus) ovipositing their eggs within spawn of an amphibian species (sandpaper frog, Lechriodus fletcheri). This behavior was found among several pools used by L. fletcheri for reproduction. Beetle eggs oviposited in frog spawn were found to hatch within 24 h of the surrounding L. fletcheri eggs, with the larvae becoming voracious consumers of the hatched tadpoles. Although it has yet to be established experimentally whether this is an adaptive behavior, the laying of eggs among potential future tadpole prey in this instance should confer significant fitness benefits for the offspring upon hatching, ensuring that they are provided an immediate source of food at the start of their development and potentially throughout. This oviposition behavior might be common among diving beetles and could form a significant predatory threat for amphibians with a free‐swimming larval stage in ephemeral freshwater habitats.]]> Fri 11 Nov 2022 16:17:48 AEDT ]]>