Feeding habits and microhabitat utilization by two syntopic Brazilian Amazonian frogs (Hyla minuta and Pseudopaludicula sp. (gr. falcipes)

• Autor(a) principal: VAN SLUYS,M.
• Data de Publicação: 1998
• Outros Autores: ROCHA,C. F. D.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Biologia (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-71081998000400003
• topic: diet; frogs; resource partitioning; syntopy

We studied the feeding habits and microhabitat use of the Amazonian frogs Hyla minuta and Pseudopaludicula sp. at Serra Norte, Carajás, Brazil. Although living syntopically, the two species differed markedly in both prey types and sizes. Standardized feeding niche breadth of H. minuta (Bst = 0.572) was larger than that of Pseudopaludicula sp. (Bst = 0.149) and their feeding niche overlap was considerably low (10.5%). The two frog species also differed in microhabitat use. When active, Pseudopaludicula sp. were found partially submerged at the lake border whereas H. minuta were found predominantly on Nymphaea sp. leaves. Although we have not evaluated taxonomic effects on diet composition, differences in diet may be partially explained by differences in microhabitat use and frogs' size.