Effects of Density and Food Availability on Growth and Cannibalism in Basin-raising Larval Salamanders (Hynobius amjiensis)

For detecting the effect of population density and food availability on the growth and cannibalism,newborns of larval salamanders (Hynobius amjiensis) were basin-raised in 2×2 combinations of the ecological factors.The experiment resulted in that the somatic growth and its variation were significantly influenced by food availability,and intra-specific bite and cannibalism were determined by both the density and food availability.Of the 4 treatments,the highest growth index appeared in the combination of low-density and high-food availability,and the largest size-variation and cannibalism in that of high-density and low-food.The results were in keeping with the expect of current theories.