Abstract

MUNOZ-GUERRERO, JAIDER; SERRANO, VÍCTOR H.  and  RAMIREZ-PINILLA, MARTHA PATRICIA. Microhabitat use, diet and time of activity of four sympatric Neotropical hylid frogs (Anura: Hylidae). Caldasia [online]. 2007, vol.29, n.2, pp.413-425. ISSN 0366-5232.

Microhabitat use, diet, and reproductive phenology were studied in four sympatric hylid species in temporal ponds of the Colombian Caribbean. Eight hylid species were registered but only four of those were studied given their abundance and high representativeness: Dendropsophus microcephalus, Scarthyla vigilans, Hypsiboas pugnax and Scinax rostratus. During the extreme dry season frogs were not found, thus the sampling time and observations were made during rainy seasons between 1999 and 2001. Microhabitat use (substrate and height) varied among species; the small species D. microcephalus and S. vigilans were found within the pond on low submerged vegetation whereas the species of large body size were on high vegetation around the water bodies (H. pugnax, S. rostratus); then, a spatial overlap was present only between the species of similar size. There were no differences among species in the type of consumed prey; however, there were significant differences in the frequency and size of ingested prey related to body size: larger species consumed larger prey. During the rainy seasons the abundance and calling activity of the four species were not continuous in time. Although the males of the four species were reproductively active all rainy months, differences in the time of activity are related with female reproductive activity. S. vigilans and S. rostratus have an explosive reproduction where as, D. microcephalus and H. pugnax showed an extended reproductive activity during almost the whole rainy season. Thus, a temporal segregation was observed between species of similar body sizes allowing a minimal overlap in the use of the resources (food and microhabitat).

Keywords : Diet; Hylidae; microhabitat; reproductive activity; use of resources.

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