Dietary assessment of five species of anuran tadpoles from northern Odisha, India

Abstract

Anuran tadpoles are gregarious predators capable of differentiating food items among diverse types of prey via varied feeding and oral structures. Tadpoles were collected from different study sites in three districts of northern Odisha during three consecutive rainy seasons (from July–October of 2015–2017). After morphometric measurements (total length and body length), the stomach contents of 75 tadpoles belonging to five different anuran species (Duttaphrynus melanostictus, Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis, Fejervarya orissaensis, Polypedates maculatus and Microhyla ornata) belonging to four families namely Bufonidae, Dicroglossidae, Rhacophoridae and Microhylidae were examined. The food spectrum of tadpoles included mostly detritus, followed by phytoplankton (represented by 5 classes and 54 genera). Such studies contribute to the understanding of the natural diets of these anuran species that can assist in developing management strategies for them. Aquatic habitats must be conserved and maintained so that conservation of anurans can be ensured.

Habitat Characteristics and Amphibians Conservation in Lombok Island

“…These two factors are the most essential component of the amphibian community on Lombok Island (Syazali et al, 2018). The greater richness of tree species also positively influences the availability of feed resources in the form of detritus for larvae (Asrafuzzaman et al, 2018). Diverse plants play an essential role in the presence of various types of insects, which are the main feed of the amphibious juvenile and adult phases (Sanches et al, 2018).…”