Diet of Ameerega braccata (Steindachner, 1864) (Anura: Dendrobatidae) from Chapada dos Guimarães and Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Abstract

The understanding of feeding habits is important for anurans in general, both from an ecological and a phylogenetic perspective. For diurnal poison frogs belonging to the Dendrobatidae family, diet aspects play a crucial role in their defense and survival. Herein, we investigated feeding habits, foraging behaviour, and overall effects of habitat, sex, and body size on the diet of individuals of Ameerega braccata, a poorly known dendrobatid species. Specimens were observed and collected in the type-locality, Chapada dos Guimarães, and in the neighbouring municipality of Cuiabá, both in the State of Mato Grosso, Midwestern Brazil. The most important prey categories for A. braccata were Formicidae, Isoptera, and Acari, whose representatives were caught during active foraging. Individuals from Chapada dos Guimarães population consumed more Acari but fewer Isoptera than individuals from Cuiabá. Despite this, niche breadth values were narrow and similar for the two populations. Individuals from two distinct habitats (campo sujo and cerrado stricto sensu) showed differences in their diet, probably as an effect of differential prey availability. Females consumed more Isoptera than males. The number of prey categories used as food was not influenced by the variation of body size of the target species. However, the abundance and the volume of consumed Acari were statistically correlated with body size. The main results suggest that Ameerega braccata has a narrow niche breadth, as well as a specialised diet in ants, termites, and mites, which reinforces the hypotheses of close association between Acari consumption and the presence of skin toxic alkaloids, already found in other species of Dendrobatidae. Although differences in prey consumption between sexes are uncommon among poisonous frogs, differences in the diet composition between age classes, which probably reduce intraspecific competition, are frequently reported.

Trophic Ecology ofPhysalaemus ephippifer(Anura, Leptodactylidae) in Eastern Amazonia

“…Trophic niche partitioning avoids possible intraspecific competition for food, as observed by Forti et al (2011). In their study, they observed that males of Ameerega braccata eat mainly ants, whereas females eat mainly termites.…”

“…However, during the rainy season, females consumed mainly prey with high nutritional value (i.e., coleopteran larvae and termites) (Redford and Dorea, 1984;Marconi et al, 2002). Female anurans need to store a larger proportion of fat, which is used as an energy source for gamete production during the reproductive period (Duellman and Trueb, 1994;Biavati et al, 2004;Forti et al 2011) that occurs during the rainy season for most species in Amazonia, including P. ephippifer (Hö dl, 1990a,b).…”

Natural History ofAmeerega flavopicta(Dendrobatidae) on an Island Formed by Três Marias Hydroelectric Reservoir in Southeastern Brazil

“…We found ants to represent 23.9-31.2% of prey consumed and to occur at 35.3-35.7% of the analyzed stomachs of the population of A. flavopicta at Pirapitinga. Ants were also the most consumed item by populations of Ameerega braccata from Chapada dos Guimarães and Cuiabá , Mato Grosso, central Brazil (Forti et al, 2011). The frequency of ants in the diet of this population is compatible with their use as a source for skin alkaloid production.…”

Diet and Trophic Niche of Two Sympatric Physalaemus Species in Central Brazil

“…Termites and ants have been considered major food items in several anuran species (Forti et al, 2011;Caldart et al, 2012;Oliveira et al, 2015), and also in the diet of Physalaemus species in other regions of Brazil (Santos et al, 2004;Oliveira et al, 2015). Their great importance in both Physalaemus cuvieri and P. atim suggests that these species forage actively and opportunistically by consuming small preys largely available in the environment (Toft, 1981;Solé and Rödder, 2009).…”