Associations between morphological attributes and food resources in anurans from the Middle Xingu region, Brazil

Abstract

Considering the hypothesis that there is a relationship between morphology and the choice or feeding habit in anurans, our objective was to identify the food items present in the anurans’ diet; verify the existence of a pattern in the diet of the anurans collected; and show the relationship between diet and species morphology. Sampling was carried out using an active search methodology carried out by three people, lasting approximately three hours per unit. For that work, only species that had an abundance equal to or greater than five individuals were considered. We identified dietary patterns in taxonomic groups and tested their significance, in addition to groupings by family, genus and species and the relationship between morphology and diet. 148 individuals were collected, belonging to 41 anuran species, 16 genera and nine families, 44 items were observed, highlighting the Formicidae family and Tadpoles, with shrimp and crab being the least frequently found items. We concluded that there was a relationship between morphology and diet, in addition to the formation of a guild of insectivorous anurans, indicating a greater frequency of Hymenoptera as a food resource, mainly composed of the genus Rhinella.