Search

Copyright of Biota Neotropica (Edicao em Iingles) is the property of Biota Neotropica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study presents information on habitat use, diet, reproductive aspects of, and the helminth parasite community in, the frog Proceratophrys mantiqueira from an Atlantic Rainforest area (APA Mantiqueira) in southeastern Brazil. Frogs were collected at altitudes between 1200 and 1775 m. The estimated population density of P. mantiqueira in the area was 2.0 ind/100 m2, and the microhabitat most frequently used (82% of the individuals) was the leaf litter on the forest floor. The diet was composed by 20 types of prey items, with Coleoptera and Orthoptera contributing the most important items. The width of the mouth affected the volume of prey consumed by P. mantiqueira, as is expected for frogs, because they swallow their prey whole. There were ontogenetic changes in the types of prey in the diet of P. mantiqueira, with no ingestion of Coleopteran adults by juvenile frogs (< 26 mm). The clutch size of females of P. mantiqueira (692--923 eggs) was similar to those reported for the congeners P. appendiculata and P. tupinamba, but slightly smaller than those recorded for larger species of Proceratophrys such as P. boiei and P. caramaschii. Despite occurring at relatively low densities in the study area, P. mantiqueira had a high prevalence of infection by helminthes (90%), possibly because the helminth parasite community was mostly composed by host-generalists and monoxenous life-cycle species. Diet composition and rates of endoparasite infection, but not microhabitat use, changed with the age structure of the studied populations of P. mantiqueira. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we analyzed microhabitat use, daily activity period, and diet of three populations of Rhinella ornata from three Brazilian Atlantic rainforest remnants: Estação Ecológica Estadual Paraíso (EEEP), Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu (REGUA), and Morro São João (MSJ). Leaf litter (35.2%) and bare ground (29.4%) were the microhabitats where most anurans were first sighted. Activity was predominantly nocturnal, and juveniles, opposed to adults, were active also during daylight. Diet was composed predominantly by arthropods, mainly Formicidae and Coleoptera. Isoptera was of relevance in the MSJ's population. The similarity of the trophic niche (Oij) of R. ornata between populations in terms of numerical proportion of food categories consumed was 0.999 between EEEP and REGUA, 0.523 between EEEP and MSJ, and 0.505 between REGUA and MSJ, and in terms of volumetric proportion was 0.689 between EEEP and REGUA, 0.300 between EEEP and MSJ, and 0.126 between REGUA and MSJ. The mean number and the mean volume of food items consumed per individual were higher in MSJ, and there was no difference between EEEP and REGUA. These differences might have occurred due to differences in prey availability among these areas. These results reveal some level of variability in prey types consumed among populations. The number of food items was related with the SVL in EEEP, and the jaw width affected the volume of food items ingested in the three populations studied. This may occur due to smaller-sized prey become energetically less favorable with increase of anurans' body size and also because smaller individuals are relatively constrained by jaw width. Flexibility in prey consumed may result in a low trophic similarity among different populations of R. ornata, and might represent an advantage in environments with varying prey availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on community parameters of leaf-litter frogs are currently limited for most remnants within the Atlantic Rainforest Biome. In this study, we present data on the assemblage of leaf-litter frogs from Reserva Rio das Pedras (RERP), an Atlantic Forest remnant of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sampling was carried out during August 2005 at altitudes between 20 and 750 m a.s.l. We found six anuran species on the leaf-litter: Brachycephalus didactylus, Ischnocnema parva, Ischnocnema guentheri, Haddadus binotatus, Zachaenus parvulus and Adenomera marmorata, all endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest biome. The estimated overall frog density of the local leaf-litter frog assemblage was higher (10.1 frogs/100 m2) than those reported for most other areas of southeast Brazil. Ischnocnema parva (4.0 individuals/100 m2) and Haddadus binotatus (3.5 individuals/100 m2) had the highest densities in the area. H. binotatus (1413.1 g/ha) had the highest estimated mass per hectare, whereas B. didactylus had the lowest (8.4 g/ha). Both density and richness were lower at the lowermost site, which probably reflects the differences in habitat quality: at altitudes below 200 m the forest is sparser, whereas at higher altitudes it is denser and less disturbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biota Neotropica is the property of Biota Neotropica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the clutch size, clutch volume and relative clutch mass of females from various populations of Eurolophosaurus nanuzae in Brazil. The specimens were collected from the Espinhaço mountain range including Diamantina and Serro. There is one vitellogenic follicle and/or egg in three out of 37 mature females. Results highlight the association between clutch size and female body size and the tendency of larger females to produce clutches with three eggs. Also cited is the relationship between the lack of an inverse relation between egg volume and clutch size and evidence of an optimal egg size for the species.