Ecological aspects about Leptodactylus chaquensis (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from Argentina: trophic, reproductive and parasites features

SCHAEFER, E. F.; HAMANN, M. I.; KEHR, A. I.; GONZÁLEZ C. E.; DURÉ M. I.

HERPETOLOGICAL JOURNAL

BRITISH HERPETOL SOC

Lugar: London, U. K.; Año: 2006 vol. 16 p. 387 - 394

0268-0130

We studied the trophic and reproductive ecology and document the helminth fauna of the Cei´s White-lipped frog, Leptodactylus chaquensis from northeastern Argentina. Our results indicate that 1) this frog was generalist in the continuous specialist-generalist, using an intermediate strategy between active foraging and sit and wait predator; 2) the diet consisted of 17 types of prey and was dominated numerically (24.86%) and volumetrically (24.80%) by coleopterans and the niche breadth was 6.63 while the standardized niche breadth was 0.35; 3) the number of mature ova per female (ovarian complement) was ranged from 3113 to 16234 (mean = 6744.71; s = 4534.20; n = 7), and the ovum diameter per female varied from 0.4 to 1.2 mm (mean = 0.76, s = 0.14, n = 700); 4) the testes mass was ranged from 0.32 to 1.54 g (mean = 0.93; s = 0.36, n = 12) and this species has an explosive reproductive pattern, and 5) the parasites fauna was rich consisting of 20 species of helminthes (twelve trematodes, one cestodes, six nematodes and one acanthocephalans) where the kidney, lung and large intestine were the organs more infected. The width trophic niche and the habitats where this species is living structured the parasites infracommunity.