Feeding habits of six anuran (Amphibia: Anura) species in a rainforest fragment in Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Although Brazil encompasses one of the most abundant anuran faunas in the world, quantitative information on anuran ecology and diet are limited, especially in the Northeastern region. We analyzed the diet of six species: Hyla albomarginata, Hyla cf. branneri, Hyla minuta, Phyllomedusa aff. hypochondrialis (Hylidae), Leptodactylus natalensis, and Physalaemus cuvieri (Leptodactylidae) in a temporary pond in a rainforest remnant in Pernambuco, between 1999-2000. We analyzed diet composition, degree of food preference, and seasonal variations in diet. Leptodactylus natalensis and P. cuvieri showed higher diet diversity, whereas H. minuta consumed fewer food items. Insecta, Arachnida, and plants were preferential items for most species. Acari were consumed by all species; Hymenoptera, Odonata, and Coleoptera were also often consumed. A slight increase in diet diversity occurred in the rainy season. The species showed a generalist feeding behaviour, although P. cuvieri consumed Formicidae as major prey item.

Living together, sometimes feeding in a similar way: the case of the syntopic hylid frogs Hypsiboas raniceps and Scinax acuminatus (Anura: Hylidae) in the Pantanal of Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil

“…An accidental ingestion of plant material when capturing prey has been reported for some treefrog species (e.g. Oplinger, 1967;Rossa-Feres, 1997;Sluys and Rocha, 1998;Teixeira et al, 2002;Santos et al, 2004;Mahan and Johnson, 2007).…”

Nicho ecológico e aspectos da história natural de Phyllomedusa azurea (Anura: Hylidae, Phyllomedusinae) no Cerrado do Brasil Central

“…Com relação à ingestão de material vegetal, Anderson & Marthis (1999) sugerem que a mesma acontece de forma acidental quando há captura de presas sobre o substrato, mas que esse material contribuiria com uma parcela nutricional na dieta e serviria ainda como fonte extra de absorção de água pelo organismo para prevenir a dessecação. Já Santos et al (2004) sugerem que o material vegetal poderia ser ingerido ativamente pelos anuros de forma a auxiliar na eliminação de parasitas intestinais e exoesqueletos de invertebrados.…”

Feeding Habits of Two Sympatric Rocket Frogs (Genus Ptychadena) in a Forest Remnant of Southern-Central Ivory Coast, West Africa

“…The later observation was attributed to a significant sexual dimorphism, with females being much larger than males. Regardless of sex the generalistic [41,42] diet of P. oxyrhynchus and P. longirostris was essentially characterized by terrestrial invertebrates (Tables 1 and 2), being in accordance with the terrestrial life of both species. However, the presence of a strictly aquatic prey, i.e., tadpoles, in the prey of a female P. longirostris indicates that this species also feeds in water.…”