Background. Frogs are generalist predators of a wide range of typically small prey items. But descriptions of dietary items regularly include other anurans, such that frogs are considered to be among the most important of anuran predators. However, the only existing hypothesis for the inclusion of anurans in the diet of post-metamorphic frogs postulates that it happens more often in bigger frogs. Moreover, this hypothesis has yet to be tested

Altwegg, Res

Davies, Sarah J

de Villiers, F André

Edwards, Shelley

Measey, G John

Mokhatla, Mohlamatsane M

Vimercati, Giovanni

English

PubMed

Background. Frogs are generalist predators of a wide range of typically small prey items. But descriptions of dietary items regularly include other anurans, such that frogs are considered to be among the most important of anuran predators. However, the only existing hypothesis for the inclusion of anurans in the diet of post-metamorphic frogs postulates that it happens more often in bigger frogs. Moreover, this hypothesis has yet to be tested.
Methods.We reviewed the literature on frog diet in order to test the size hypothesis
and determine whether there are other putative explanations for anurans in the diet
of post-metamorphic frogs. In addition to size, we recorded the habitat, the number
of other sympatric anuran species, and whether or not the population was invasive.
We controlled for taxonomic bias by including the superfamily in our analysis.
Results. Around one fifth of the 355 records included anurans as dietary items of
populations studied, suggesting that frogs eating anurans is not unusual. Our data
showed a clear taxonomic bias with ranids and pipids having a higher proportion of
anuran prey than other superfamilies. Accounting for this taxonomic bias, we found
that size in addition to being invasive, local anuran diversity, and habitat produced
a model that best fitted our data. Large invasive frogs that live in forests with high
anuran diversity are most likely to have a higher proportion of anurans in their diet.
Conclusions. We confirm the validity of the size hypothesis for anurophagy, but show that there are additional significant variables. The circumstances under which
frogs eat frogs are likely to be complex, but our data may help to alert conservationists to the possible dangers of invading frogs entering areas with threatened anuran species

Measey, G.J.

Vimercati, G.

de Villiers, F.A.

Mokhatla, M.M.

Davies, S.J.

Edwards, S.

Altwegg, R.

Stellenbosch University SUNScholar Repository

PeerJ

Frog eat frog:  exploring variables influencing anurophagy

CITATION: Measey, G. J. et al.  2015. Frog eat frog: exploring variables influencing anurophagy. PeerJ, 3:e1204, doi:10.7717/peerj.1204.The original publication along with its supplement data are available at https://peerj.comBackground -  Frogs are generalist predators of a wide range of typically small prey
items. But descriptions of dietary items regularly include other anurans, such
that frogs are considered to be among the most important of anuran predators.
However, the only existing hypothesis for the inclusion of anurans in the diet of
post-metamorphic frogs postulates that it happens more often in bigger frogs.
Moreover, this hypothesis has yet to be tested.
Methods - We reviewed the literature on frog diet in order to test the size hypothesis
and determine whether there are other putative explanations for anurans in the diet
of post-metamorphic frogs. In addition to size, we recorded the habitat, the number
of other sympatric anuran species, and whether or not the population was invasive.
We controlled for taxonomic bias by including the superfamily in our analysis.
Results - Around one fifth of the 355 records included anurans as dietary items of
populations studied, suggesting that frogs eating anurans is not unusual. Our data
showed a clear taxonomic bias with ranids and pipids having a higher proportion of
anuran prey than other superfamilies. Accounting for this taxonomic bias, we found
that size in addition to being invasive, local anuran diversity, and habitat produced
a model that best fitted our data. Large invasive frogs that live in forests with high
anuran diversity are most likely to have a higher proportion of anurans in their diet.
Conclusions - We confirm the validity of the size hypothesis for anurophagy, but
show that there are additional significant variables. The circumstances under which
frogs eat frogs are likely to be complex, but our data may help to alert conservationists
to the possible dangers of invading frogs entering areas with threatened anuran
species.https://peerj.com/articles/1204/Publishers' Versio

Measey, G. John

De Villiers, F. Andre

Mokhatla, Mohlamatsane M.

Davies, Sarah J.

Frog eat frog : exploring variables influencing anurophagy

Background. Frogs are generalist predators of a wide range of typically small prey items. But descriptions of dietary items regularly include other anurans, such that frogs are considered to be among the most important of anuran predators. However, the only existing hypothesis for the inclusion of anurans in the diet of post-metamorphic frogs postulates that it happens more often in bigger frogs. Moreover, this hypothesis has yet to be tested.Methods. We reviewed the literature on frog diet in order to test the size hypothesis and determine whether there are other putative explanations for anurans in the diet of post-metamorphic frogs. In addition to size, we recorded the habitat, the number of other sympatric anuran species, and whether or not the population was invasive. We controlled for taxonomic bias by including the superfamily in our analysis.Results. Around one fifth of the 355 records included anurans as dietary items of populations studied, suggesting that frogs eating anurans is not unusual. Our data showed a clear taxonomic bias with ranids and pipids having a higher proportion of anuran prey than other superfamilies. Accounting for this taxonomic bias, we found that size in addition to being invasive, local anuran diversity, and habitat produced a model that best fitted our data. Large invasive frogs that live in forests with high anuran diversity are most likely to have a higher proportion of anurans in their diet.Conclusions. We confirm the validity of the size hypothesis for anurophagy, but show that there are additional significant variables. The circumstances under which frogs eat frogs are likely to be complex, but our data may help to alert conservationists to the possible dangers of invading frogs entering areas with threatened anuran species

G. John Measey

Giovanni Vimercati

F. André de Villiers

Mohlamatsane M. Mokhatla

Sarah J. Davies

Shelley Edwards

Res Altwegg

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Frog eat frog: exploring variables influencing anurophagy

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Cape Town University OpenUCT

Background. Frogs are generalist predators of a wide range of typically small prey items. But descriptions of dietary items regularly include other anurans, such that frogs are considered to be among the most important of anuran predators. However, the only existing hypothesis for the inclusion of anurans in the diet of post-metamorphic frogs postulates that it happens more often in bigger frogs. Moreover, this hypothesis has yet to be tested.
Methods. We reviewed the literature on frog diet in order to test the size hypothesis and determine whether there are other putative explanations for anurans in the diet of post-metamorphic frogs. In addition to size, we recorded the habitat, the number of other sympatric anuran species, and whether or not the population was invasive. We controlled for taxonomic bias by including the superfamily in our analysis.
Results. Around one fifth of the 355 records included anurans as dietary items of populations studied, suggesting that frogs eating anurans is not unusual. Our data showed a clear taxonomic bias with ranids and pipids having a higher proportion of anuran prey than other superfamilies. Accounting for this taxonomic bias, we found that size in addition to being invasive, local anuran diversity, and habitat produced a model that best fitted our data. Large invasive frogs that live in forests with high anuran diversity are most likely to have a higher proportion of anurans in their diet.
Conclusions. We confirm the validity of the size hypothesis for anurophagy, but show that there are additional significant variables. The circumstances under which frogs eat frogs are likely to be complex, but our data may help to alert conservationists to the possible dangers of invading frogs entering areas with threatened anuran species.National Research Foundation (South Africa

Frog eat frog: exploring variables influencing anurophagy

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Stellenbosch University SUNScholar Repository

Stellenbosch University SUNScholar Repository

Directory of Open Access Journals

Crossref

Cape Town University OpenUCT

National Research Foundation