A statistical approach to explore the relationship between the shape of some colombian frogs and their feeding habits
We performed an exploratory analysis of the shape and size relationships between predator and prey for 20 species of frogs (9 species and 5 families) from the Forest Reserve La Forzosa located in Anori, Antioquia, Colombia. In addition we used a principal component analysis to describe the shape of the head of the frog species. The diet of frogs was studied by examination of stomach contents and it was found mainly arthropods and any vertebrate. Insects and arachnids were the most representative classes, while ants (Family Formicidae) was the dam that had the highest frequency in the diets. We found a significant relationship between the size of frogs and mean volume of prey consumed, effectively suggesting that larger frogs feed on larger prey. Moreover, the shape of the head also appears to affect the size of the prey, since there was a trend, though weak, that frogs with wider heads and a longer jaw consume a greater volume of prey, however, frogs with wider heads and longer jaws ingest a lower average number of dams that frogs with short jaws and narrow head.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Medellín - Facultad de Ciencias
2012
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/rfc/article/view/48990 |
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