Vol. 19 No. 1 (2024)
Articles

Diet patterns of water green frogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex) in mixed population systems in Serbia

PDF
  • Katarina V. Breka,
  • Milan Plećaš,
  • Nikola Vesović,
  • Katarina Stojanović,
  • Boris Dudić,
  • Srđan Z. Stamenković
Katarina V. Breka
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 16, 11000 Belgrade
Milan Plećaš
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 16, 11000 Belgrade
Nikola Vesović
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 16, 11000 Belgrade
Katarina Stojanović
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 16, 11000 Belgrade
Boris Dudić
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 16, 11000 Belgrade
Srđan Z. Stamenković
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 16, 11000 Belgrade
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-13529

Published 2024-06-21

Keywords

  • European water frogs,
  • feeding habits,
  • diet composition,
  • prey diversity,
  • Danube,
  • Serbia
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Breka, K. V., Plećaš, M., Vesović, N., Stojanović, K., Dudić, B., & Stamenković, S. Z. (2024). Diet patterns of water green frogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex) in mixed population systems in Serbia. Acta Herpetologica, 19(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-13529

Copyright (c) 2024 Katarina Breka, Milan Plećaš, Nikola Vesović, Katarina Stojanović, Boris Dudić, Srđan Stamenković

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Abstract

Population systems in which all three taxa of the Pelophylax esculentus complex coexist are rare and in Serbia can only be found along the Danube. Although several studies describe the diet in populations with only one taxon, there is a lack of data from mixed populations. We studied the diet in mixed populations of edible frogs at three sites for three years. We collected gut contents from 221 adult frogs using the stomach flushing method and identified 1,477 prey items. The diet consisted mainly of insects (88%). For all three taxa, the most frequently consumed prey groups were Hymenoptera (28%), Coleoptera (18%), Lepidoptera (17%) and Diptera (11%). Larger prey (in terms of length and volume) was mainly consumed by P. ridibundus, followed by P. esculentus. The smallest prey were mainly consumed by P. lessonae. However, P. ridibundus consumed fewer prey items than P. lessonae. No significant difference was found between the taxa in the staple diet, while there were differences in the less abundant prey categories, especially between P. ridibundus and P. lessonae. The narrowest trophic niche width was observed in P. lessonae, followed by P. esculentus, and the widest in P. ridibundus. Our results suggest that the diet of the three taxa is diverse and consists of a large number of invertebrate groups. However, the diet was locality-specific, with the dominance of different prey groups in different localities depending on habitat characteristics. These results confirm our expectation that the frogs of the Pelophylax esculentus complex follow an opportunistic foraging strategy, as predicted by optimal foraging theory.

PDF

References

  1. Addinsoft (2021): XLSTAT statistical and data analysis solution. New York, USA.
  2. Albrech, M., Gotelli, N.J. (2001): Spatial and temporal niche partitioning in grassland ants. Oecologia 126: 134-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420000494
  3. Anderson, A.M., Haukos, D.A., Anderson, J.T. (1999): Diet composition of three anurans from the Playa Wetlands of Northwest Texas. Copeia 1999: 515-520. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1447502
  4. Batista, R.C., De-Carvalho, C.B., Freitas, E.B., Franco, S.C., Batista, C.C., Coelho, W.A., Faria, R.G. (2011): Diet of Rhinella schneideri (Werner, 1894) (Anura: Bufonidae) in the Cerrado, Central Brazil. Herpetol. Notes 4: 17-21.
  5. Berger, L. (1973): Systematics and Hybridization in European Green Frogs of Rana esculenta complex. J. Herpetol. 7: 1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1562822
  6. Breka, K., Krizmanić, I., Vukov, T., Stamenković, S. (2020): A procedure for taxon assessment based on morphological variation in European water frogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex). Turk. Zool. Derg. 44: 214-223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3906/zoo-1912-29
  7. Brock, P.D. (2017): A photographic guide to Insects of Southern Europe, the Mediterranean. Pisces Publications, Berkshire.
  8. Chinery, M. (1993): Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe. HarperCollins Publishers, London.
  9. Çiçek, K., Mermer, A. (2006): Feeding biology of the marsh frog, Rana ridibunda Pallas 1771, (Anura, Ranidae) in Turkey’s Lake District. North-West J. Zool. 2: 57-72.
  10. Çiçek, K., Mermer, A. (2007): Food composition of the Marsh Frog, Rana ridibunda Pallas, 1771, in Thrace. Turk. J. Zool. 31: 83-90.
  11. Cogãlniceanu, D., Palmer, M.W., Ciubuc, C. (2000): Feeding in anuran communities on islands in the Danube floodplain. Amphibia-Reptilia 22: 1-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/156853801750096141
  12. Costa-Pereira, R., Araújo, M.S., Souza, F.L., Ingram, T. (2019): Competition and resource breadth shape niche variation and overlap in multiple trophic dimensions. P. Roy. Soc. B-Biol Sci 286: 20190369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0369
  13. Crump, M.L. (1992): Cannibalism in amphibians. In: Cannibalism. Ecology and Evolution among Diverse Taxa, pp. 256-276. Elgar, M.A., Crespi, B.J., Eds, Oxford University Press, Oxford. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198546504.003.0012
  14. Fauna Europaea (2011): Fauna Europaea version 2.4. Online available at: https://fauna-eu.org
  15. Ferenti, S., Covaciu-Marcov, S-D., Blaga-Lungulescu, R-M. (2009): The comparative analysis of the trophic spectrum of some populations of Pelophylax ridibundus and Pelophylax kl. esculentus from Arad County, Romania. Herpetologica Romanica 3: 31-39.
  16. Flecker, A.S., Feifarek, B.P., Taylor, B.W. (1999): Ecosystem Engineering by a Tropical Tadpole: Density-Dependent Effects on Habitat Structure and Larval Growth Rates. Copeia 2: 495-500. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1447498
  17. Glaudas, X., Glennon, K.L., Martins, M., Luiselli, L., Fearn, S., Trembath, D.F., Jelić, D., Graham, A.J. (2019): Foraging mode,relative prey size and diet breadth: A phylogenetically explicit analysis of snake feeding ecology. J. Anim. Ecol. 88: 757-67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12972
  18. Gotelli, N.J., Colwell, R.K. (2011): Estimating Species Richness. In: Biological Diversity: Frontiers in Measurement and Assessment, pp. 39-54. Magurran, A.E., McGill, B.J., Eds, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  19. Hammer, Ø., Harper, D.A.T., Ryan, P.D. (2001): PAST: Palaeontological Statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol. Electron. 4: 9.
  20. Hocking, J.D., Babbitt, J. K. (2014): Amphibian contributions to ecosystem services. Herpetol. Conserv. Biol. 9: 1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086854
  21. Horsák, M., Juřičková, L., Picka, J. (2013): Molluscs of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Nakladatelstvi Kabourek.
  22. Hurlbert, S.H. (1978). The measurement of niche overlap and some relatives. Ecology 59: 67-77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1936632
  23. Jośko, P., Pabijan, M. (2020): Recent shifts in taxonomic compositions of water frog populations (Anura: Pelophylax) inhabiting fish ponds in southern Poland. Amphibia-Reptilia. 42: 59-72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10031
  24. Karaica, D., Buj, I., Čavlović, K., Mičetić Stanković, V. (2016): Comparative morphology and ecology of the Pelophylax esculentus complex in Croatia. Salamandra 52: 161-170.
  25. Kenney, A.J., Krebs, C.J. (2003). EcoMeth: programs for ecological methodology, 2nd edition, ver. 7.4 Exeter Software, New York.
  26. Krebs, C.J. (2014): Ecological Methodology. University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
  27. Krizmanić, I., Ivanović, A. (2010): Population systems of the Pelophylax complex in the southern part of its range. Folia Zool. 59: 215-222. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25225/fozo.v59.i3.a7.2010
  28. Kupferberg, S. (1997): Facilitation of periphyton production by tadpole grazing: functional differences between species. Freshw. Biol. 37: 427-39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.1997.00170.x
  29. Kuzmin, S., Beebee,T., Andreone, F., Nyström, P., Anthony, B. P., Schmidt, B., Ogrodowczyk, A., Ogielska, M., Cogalniceanu, D., Kovács, T., Kiss, I., Puky, M., Vörös J. (2009): Pelophylax lessonae (errata version published in 2016). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
  30. Legendre, P., Legendre, L. (1998): Numerical ecology. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
  31. Leps, J., Smilauer. P. (2003): Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data Using CANOCO. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615146
  32. Lima, A.P. (1998): The effects of size in the diets of six sympatric species of postmetamorphic litter anurans in Central Amazônia. J. Herpetol. 32: 392-399. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1565453
  33. Löw, P., Török, J. (1998): Prey size selection and food habits of Water Frogs and Moor Frogs from Kis-Balaton, Hungary (Anura: Ranidae). Herpetozoa. 11: 71-78.
  34. Lunghi, E., Corti, C., Biaggini, M., Zhao, Y., Cianferoni, F. (2022): The trophic niche of two sympatric species of salamanders (Plethodontidae and Salamandridae) from Italy. Animals 12: 2221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12172221
  35. McCoy, M.W., Barfield, M., Holt, R.D. (2009): Predator shadows: complex life histories as generators of spatially patterned indirect interactions across ecosystems. Oikos 118: 87-100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2008.16878.x
  36. Mikulíček, P., Kautman, M., Kautman, J., Pruvost, N.B.M. (2014): Mode of hybridogenesis and habitat preferences influence population composition of water frogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex, Anura: Ranidae) in a region of sympatric occurrence (western Slovakia). J. Zoolog. Syst. Evol. Res. 53: 124-132. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12083
  37. Mollov, A.I. (2008): Sex-based differences in the trophic niche of Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) (Amphibia: Anura) from Bulgaria. Acta Zool. Bulg. 60: 277-284.
  38. Mollov, A.I., Boyadzhiev, P., Donev, A. (2010): Trophic role of the Marsh Frog Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) (Amphibia, Anura) in the aquatic ecosystems. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci. 16: 298-306.
  39. Moore, T.Y., Biewener, A.A. (2015): Outrun or Outmaneuver: Predator-Prey Interactions as a Model System for Integrating Biomechanical Studies in a Broader Ecological and Evolutionary Context. Integr. Comp. Biol. 55: 1188-1197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icv074
  40. Nartshuk, E.P. (2003): Key to families of Diptera (Insecta) of the fauna of Russian and adjacent countries. Proc. Zool. Soc. 294: 1-251.
  41. Nentwig, W., Blick, T., Bosmans, R., Gloor, D., Hänggi, A., Kropf, C. (2022): Spiders of Europe. Version 03.2022. Online available at: https://www.araneae.nmbe.ch
  42. Nilsson, A.N. (1996): Aquatic insects of North Europe: a taxonomic handbook. Volume 1: Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Heteroptera, Neuroptera, Megaloptera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera. Apollo Books, Denmark.
  43. Paunović, A., Bjelić-Čabrilo, O., Šimić, S. (2010): The diet of water frogs (Pelophylax esculentus “Complex”) form Petrovaradinski Rit Marsh (Serbia). Arch. Biol. Sci. 62: 298-306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS1003797P
  44. Pianka, E.R. (2000): Evolutionary ecology. Benjamin –Cummings, Addison-Wesley-Longman, San Francisco.
  45. Polis, G.A. (1991): Complex trophic interactions in deserts: an empirical critique of food-web theory. Am. Nat. 138: 123-155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/285208
  46. Popović, E., Šimić, S., Tallosi, B. (1992): Food Analysis of some Rana species in the Habitat of Carska bara (YU). Tiscia. 26: 1-3.
  47. Quiroga, L.B., Sanabria, E.A., Acosta, J.C. (2009): Size- and sex dependent variation in diet of Rhinella arenarum (Anura: Bufonidae) in a wetland of San Juan, Argentina. J. Hepatol. 43: 311-317. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1670/07-117R2.1
  48. Rakojević, J., Čađenović, N., Gvozdenović, S., Šćepanović, A., Milošević D. (2022): Comparative morphology and ecology of the Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) in two artificial lakes (Krupac and Slano) from Montenegro. Russ. J. Herpetol. 29: 117-126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2022-29-2-117-126
  49. Ruchin, A.B., Ryzhov, M.K. (2002): On the diet of the marsh frog (Rana ridibunda) in the Sura and Moksha watershed, Mordovia. Advances in Amphibian Research in the Former Soviet Union. 7: 197-205.
  50. Sas, I., Covaciu-Marcov, S-D., Strugariu, A., David, A., Ilea, C. (2009): Food habit of Rana (Pelophylax) kl. esculenta females in a new recorded E-System population from a forested habitat in North-Western Romania. Turk. Zool. Derg. 33: 1-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3906/zoo-0702-8
  51. Sas, I., Kovács, É., Covaciu-Marcov, S-D., Strugariu, A., Covaci, R., Ferenti, S. (2007): Food habits of a pool frog Pelophylax lessonae–edible frog Pelophylax kl. esculentus population from North-Western Romania. Biota. 8: 71-78.
  52. Šimić, S., Tallosi, B., Popović, E. (1992): Seasonal Changes in Feeding of Rana ridibunda Pallas, 1771 (Amphibia: Anura) from Backwater Tisza. Tiscia. 26: 5-7.
  53. Simon, M., Toft, C.A. (1991): Diet specialization in small vertebrates: mite-eating in frogs. Oikos. 61: 263-278. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3545344
  54. Sjögren-Gulve, P. (1994): Distribution and extinction patterns within a Northern metapopulation of the Pool frog Rana lessonae. Ecology. 7: 1357-1367. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1937460
  55. Solé, M., Rödder, D. (2010): Dietary assessments of adult amphibians. In: Amphibian ecology and conservation: a handbook of techniques, pp. 167-184. Dodd, Jr C.K., Ed, Oxford University Press, Oxford. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199541188.003.0010
  56. Stuart, S.N., Chanson, J.S., Cox, N.A., Young, B.E., Rodrigues, A.S.L., Fischman, D.L., Waller, R.W. (2004): Status and trends of amphibiandeclines and extinctions worldwide. Science. 306: 1783-1786. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1103538
  57. Suriadna, N.M., Mykytynets, G.I., Pupinš, M., Gasso, V.Y. (2020): Population systems of Eurasian water frogs (Pelophylax) in the south of Ukraine. Biosyst. Divers. 28: 154-162. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15421/012021
  58. Ter Braak, C.J.F., Prentice, I.C. (1988): A theory of gradient analysis. Adv. Ecol. Res. 18: 271-317. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60183-X
  59. Ter Braak, C.J.F., Smilauer, P. (2002): CANOCO reference manual and CanoDraw for Windows user’s guide: software for canonical community ordination (version 5.15).
  60. Toledo, L.F., Ribeiro, R.S., Haddad, C.F. (2007): Anurans as prey: an exploratory analysis and size relationships between predators and their prey. J. Zool. 271: 170-177. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00195.x
  61. Vignoli, L., Luiselli, L., Bologna, M. (2009): Dietary patterns and overlap in an amphibian assemblage at a pond in Mediterranean Central Italy. Vie et Milieu. 59: 47-57.
  62. Vukov, T., Tomović, Lj., Krizmanić, I., Labus, N., Jović, D., Džukić, G., Kalezić, M. (2015): Conservation issues of Serbian Amphibians identified from distributional, life-history and ecological data. Acta Zool. Bulg. 67: 105-116.