Food availability's role in the reduction in body size associated with sandy substrate in Pelobates cultripes. El rol de la disponibilidad de alimento en la reducción del tamaño corporal asociada al sustrato arenoso en Pelobates cultripes

MARANGONI, F.

FACENA

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS EXACTAS Y NATURALES Y AGRIMENSURA, UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL NORDESTE

Lugar: Corrientes; Año: 2024 p. 27 - 42

0325-4216

Body size is the most relevant trait with the greatest number ofimplications in an organism's life. Studying its variation is essential for understandingthe evolution of many others morphological and physiological characteristics.Pelobates cultripes exhibit variation in body size, related to a geological transitionfrom hercinic substrates to sandy ones in southwestern Spain. Here, we analyzeif this variation can be explained by differences in the diversity and abundance ofpotential preys between the two environments. We found 443 potential prey in thehercinic environment, identified in 11 orders and 3 classes, and 792 in the sandyenvironment identified in 7 orders and 2 classes. The diversity was significantlyhigher in the hercinic environment, while the dominance index was significantlyhigher in the sandy one. In both environments, Hymenoptera and Diptera weredominant, but Coleoptera exhibited greater dominance in the hercinic environmentcompared to the sandy one. In addition, the preys were on average significantlyheavier in the hercinic environment than in the sandy one. This might suggestthat the differences in observed body size in P. cultripes could be explained bydifferences in diversity of food available and energy consumption. However, wethink it is necessary to increase the sample size in future studies of food availabilitybetween the two environments studied, as well as diversify the methods used indescribing the diet of P. cultripes, to arrive at more robust conclusions.