Seasonal Movement Patterns of Pickerel Frogs (Rana Palustris) in an Ozark Cave and Trophic Implications Supported by Stable Isotope Evidence

Fenolio, Danté B.; Graening, G. O.; Stout, Jim F.

doi:10.1894/0038-4909(2005)050[0385:smpopf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Terrestrial habitats within the cave include mud banks, cobble, bedrock, ceiling breakdown, precipitating formations (speleothems) and bat guano piles (ranging in diameter from 3 to 7 and 0.1 to 2 m in depth). A maternity population of approximately 15 000 grey bats (M. grisescens) inhabits the cave from late April to October (Fenolio et al 2005). January River has an average depth of 1.0 m, but some pools are as deep as 2 m and riffles as shallow as 2 cm; the predominant substrate is chert cobble, but others include clastic sediment and bedrock.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coprophagy in a cave-adapted salamander; the importance of bat guano examined through nutritional and stable isotope analyses

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During a two year population ecology study in a cave environment, 15 Eurycea (ZTyphlotriton) spelaea were observed ingesting bat guano. Furthermore, E. spelaea capture numbers increased significantly during the time that grey bats (Myotis grisescens) deposited fresh guano. We investigated the hypothesis that this behaviour was not incidental to the capture of invertebrate prey, but a diet switch to an energy-rich detritus in an oligotrophic environment. Stable isotope assays determined that guano may be assimilated into salamander muscle tissue, and nutritional analyses revealed that guano is a comparable food source to potential invertebrate prey items. This is the first report of coprophagy in a salamander and in any amphibian for reasons other than intestinal inoculation. Because many temperate subterranean environments are often energy poor and this limitation is thought to select for increased diet breadth, we predict that coprophagy may be common in subterranean vertebrates where it is not currently recognized.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coprophagy in a cave-adapted salamander; the importance of bat guano examined through nutritional and stable isotope analyses

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Anurans from the genus Rana appear to be the most common anuran visitors of caves and similar subterranean habitats, both in the Nearctic and the Palearctic regions (Resetarits 1986, Resetarits and Aldridge 1988, Bressi and Dolce 1999, Fenolio et al 2005, Manenti 2008). Our observations represent the first record of Rana iberica reproduction in cave-like habitat and the fourth report of an anuran utilizing a cave or subterranean habitat during all stages of its life cycle for the Palearctic ecozone.…”

Section: Final Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rana iberica (Boulenger, 1879) goes underground: subterranean habitat usage and new insights on natural history

Rosa¹,

Penado²

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reports of amphibians exploiting subterranean habitats are common, with salamanders being the most frequent and studied inhabitants. Anurans can occasionally be observed in caves and other subterranean habitats, but in contrast to salamanders, breeding had never been reported in a cave or similar subterranean habitat in Western Europe. Based on observations during visits to a drainage gallery in Serra da Estrela, Portugal, from May 2010 to December 2012, here we document: (i) first report of Rana iberica reproduction in cave-like habitat, representing the fourth report of an anuran for the Palearctic ecozone; (ii) oophagic habits of the tadpoles of R. iberica; and (iii) Salamandra salamandra predation on R. iberica larvae. These observations, particularly of R. iberica, highlight our lack of knowledge of subterranean ecosystems in the Iberian Peninsula.

show abstract

“…The abundance and the frequency of individuals found in subterranean environments suggest that further investigations should be performed on the trophic role and the impact that R. italica may have on the cave food web. In a study performed on the pickerel frog (Rana palustris (LeConte, 1825)) involving analyses with both stable isotopes and stomach contents, authors identified a significant predator activity of this species within the cave habitat (Fenolio et al 2005). In our study, the correlation between R. italica and the two insect species suggests that some trophic relationships may occur, as it is possible that frogs are more abundant in cave sectors with the presence of potential prey.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several amphibian species are known to regularly exploit subterranean environments but, besides numerous reports concerning several salamanders species (Niemiller and Miller 2007, Pierce et al 2014, Soares et al 2017, Vörös et al 2017, only a few species of frogs and toads (Anura) are known to exploit these environments (Fenolio et al 2005, Köhler et al 2010, Lunghi et al 2014, Koller 2017. Frogs have been usually considered as an accidental presence in subterranean environments (Bressi and Dolce 1999), but recently many authors showed that some Anuran species can be quite common in these sites, selecting caves with specific environmental features (Köhler et al 2010, Rosa and Penado 2013, Biswas 2014, Lunghi et al 2014, Matavelli et al 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the Italian stream frog (Rana italica Dubois, 1987) an opportunistic exploiter of cave twilight zone?

Lunghi¹,

Bruni²,

Ficetola³

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Studies on frogs exploiting subterranean environments are extremely scarce, as these Amphibians are usually considered accidental in these environments. However, according to recent studies, some anurans actively select subterranean environments on the basis of specific environmental features, and thus are able to inhabit these environments throughout the year. We present the first study on the abundance and spatial use of the Italian stream frog, Rana italica, in subterranean environments. We monthly collected data from 66 cave sectors during a whole year (2013), recording > 120 detections of R. italica. Frogs were more frequently found close to the cave entrance, without significant differences between age classes or sexes. Adults generally were observed being higher up along cave walls compared to juveniles. Frogs abundance was higher in areas showing specific environmental features, such as warm temperature, low incident light and the presence of potential prey. Rana italica likely occupies subterranean areas characterized by a combination of microclimatic suitability and prey availability. Enrico Lunghi et al. / Subterranean Biology 25: 49-60 (2018) 50

show abstract

Seasonal Movement Patterns of Pickerel Frogs (Rana Palustris) in an Ozark Cave and Trophic Implications Supported by Stable Isotope Evidence

Cited by 12 publications

References 8 publications

Coprophagy in a cave-adapted salamander; the importance of bat guano examined through nutritional and stable isotope analyses

Coprophagy in a cave-adapted salamander; the importance of bat guano examined through nutritional and stable isotope analyses

Rana iberica (Boulenger, 1879) goes underground: subterranean habitat usage and new insights on natural history

Is the Italian stream frog (Rana italica Dubois, 1987) an opportunistic exploiter of cave twilight zone?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About