Ecological study about reproductive, trophic, and parasites features of Scinax nasicus (Anura: Hylidae) from a South American subtropical area

HAMANN, MONIKA I.; KEHR, ARTURO I.; GONZÁLEZ CYNTHYA E.; DURÉ MARTA I.; SCHAEFER, EDUARDO F.

JOURNAL OF HERPETOLOGY

Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles

Lugar: Salt Lake City, Utha, USA; Año: 2007

0022-1511

The Scinax genus is distributed from eastern and southern Mexico to Argentina and Uruguay, as well as in Trinidad, Tobago, and St. Lucia. We analysed the reproductive and trophic ecology and studied the helminth fauna of S. nasicus from north-eastern Argentina. In Argentina, in the province of Corrientes, this species is abundant. The study area was established by a maximum distance of approximately 40 km towards the east and south of the city of Corrientes (27º 30´ S, 58º 45´ W) and the Paraná River delineated its western and northern edge. Data were taken monthly from 1996 to 2004 with a minimum of two samples per month in the field. The number of mature ova per female (ovarian complement) ranged from 413 – 3922, and the ovum diameter varied from 0.50 ± 0.12 mm. The species has an explosive reproductive pattern. The diet consisted of 7 types of prey and was dominated numerically by homopterans and dipterans and volumetrically by insect larvae and orthopterans. The parasite fauna was rich, consisting of 15 species of helminths (larval and adult) including trematodes (73%), nematodes (20%) and acanthocephalans (7%). The trophic niche breadth and the habitats occupied by this species structured the parasite community.  Key words: Helminths parasites; ecology; frog; diet; reproduction