Ecologia trófica de Rhinella hoogmoedi Caramaschi e Pombal, 2006 (Anura, Bufonidae) em uma floresta úmida do estado do Ceará, Brasil

Abstract

The understanding of trophic relations among species is essential for the comprehension of their ecological evolutionary history, as well as in the understanding of how communities are structured. The consumption of the same food resource by two or more species may result in the evolution of mechanisms capable of reducing this inter- specific competition, with the diversification of the items consumed. In populations, high levels of competition may result in inter-individual variations related to the consumption of available resources. Studies on anuran trophic ecology have analyzed: i) food items present in the diet; ii) seasonal variation in diet and feeding strategies; iii) ontogenetic variation in diet; and iv) inter-individual variation in diet. In the present study, individuals from a population of Rhinella hoogmoedi Caramaschi e Pombal, 2006 from Guaramiranga (reminiscent of humid forest in northeastern Brazil) were collected monthly from July 2009 to June 2010 in order to investigate the trophic resources consumed by the species, using the stomach-flush method. Food items were identified and their variation according to size, season and between individuals verified. A total of 2078 items in 16 prey categories were found among the 130 analyzed individuals. Prey size (length and volume) were related to predator size (snout-vent lenght). Formicidae, Acari, Coleoptera and Isoptera were the most consumed items. Ontogenetic variation in diet was observed, with individuals smaller than 15 mm consuming mainly Acari and those above 15 mm consuming mainly Formicidae. Diet varied slightly seasonally, and a low tendency in individual specialization was observed. It is possible that the specialization in certain food items (Formicidae and Acari) might limit, through mechanisms of trade-off, the amount of available prey, reducing the occurrence of individual specialization. Studies that evaluate how the degree of intra-specific variation changes according to feeding habits among other anurans in the community may contribute to the understanding of how trophic relations might act in the evolution of these taxa. Besides this, it is recommended that future studies try to quantify the amount of prey available in the environment, contributing to the understanding of energy flux between trophic levels. Intense forest removal observed in the humid forests of Brazilian’s northern semi-arid, associated with the constant reports on anuran declining and the lack of data on many species, points to the urgency for this type of study.