科研之友
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摘要
The worldwide decline of amphibian populations calls for studies concerning their ecological role within ecosystems and only knowledge about amphibian species' diets may facilitate the identification of their respective position in trophic cascades. Frog consumption by humans has recently increased to a considerable extent in some parts of West Africa. We analyse herein the diet of the most commonly consumed frog species, Hoplobatrachus occipitalis (Dicroglossidae), in Malanville, northern Benin. In order to determine its prey spectrum we investigated stomachs of frogs obtained from frog hunters, and stomach-flushed frogs caught by ourselves. Overall, we investigated the gut contents of 291 individuals (83 flushed, 208 dissected), 21% of which had empty stomachs. We identified Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Formicidae as the most important prey categories in flushed frogs and Pisces, Coleoptera and Araneae in collected frog stomachs. According to these data, H. occipitalis is an opportunistic forager, able to predate on terrestrial as well as on aquatic taxa. The prey spectrum revealed by the two different sampling methods differed only slightly. In contrast, the frequency of particular prey categories (e. g., fish) differed strongly. These differences were most probably method-based, rather than reflecting different prey availability among capture sites.
- 出版日期2011-8-20
