CECOAL   02625
CENTRO DE ECOLOGIA APLICADA DEL LITORAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Predator–prey interactions in anurans of the tropical dry forests of the Colombian Caribbean: A functional approach
Autor/es:
DURÉ, MARTA I.; BONILLA, MARIA ARGENIS; BLANCO TORRES, ARGELINA; CAGNOLO, LUCIANO
Revista:
BIOTROPICA
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Año: 2020
ISSN:
0006-3606
Resumen:
Anuran?prey selection might be mediated by traits, either by mismatches in predatorand prey traits (preventing interactions) or by predator selection of prey traits (encouraginginteractions). These effect traits could be summarized in two contrastingforaging strategies: ?active? and ?sit-and-wait? foragers. We evaluated whether anuranscould be classified into groups of species sharing traits associated with their diet,and what is the relation between particular effect traits of anurans and their prey.We collected anurans and identified their stomach contents once during dry, minor,and major rain seasons in six dry forest sites in the Colombian Caribbean. For each ofthe 19 anuran species and 436 prey items, we registered six effect traits. We appliedRLQ and fourth-corner methodologies to relate predator and prey traits through theirinteraction matrix. Predators were assigned to five groups according to their differencesin locomotion, body shape, proportion of the jaw width, mode of tongue protrusion,and strata preferred. Regarding preys, species were assigned to four groupsaccording to their gregariousness, body shape and hardness, defensive traits, andmobility. Body size of both, predators and prey, had a minor contribution in the groupassignment. We found that predators using active search target low-mobility preys,whereas species using sit-and-wait strategy target highly nutritive prey that are difficultto manipulate. By linking amphibian diet with foraging strategies, we hope to contributeto the understanding of mechanisms behind anuran?prey food web patternsand to build more realistic models of functional response to changing environments.