Ontogenetic prey change and food habits of two sympatric Texas Ranids: the Southern Leopard frog, Rana sphenocephala, and the Bronze frog, Rana clamitans clamitans

Abstract

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references.Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.The food habits of two sympatric Ranids were investigated for diet composition and tested for the existence of ontogenetic prey changes. Onehundred-thirty-one Southern Leopard frogs, Rana sphenocephala, and 71 Bronze frogs, Rana clamitans clamitans, were collected during June, July, August, and September of 1995 from a seasonally-flooded, mixed-hardwood, bottomiand in Tyler Co., TX. Prey items were obtained through stomach flushing and volumes measured Using the formula for the volume of a cylinder. Both frogs were positively correlated for average prey volume compared to the average snout-to-vent (SVL) length (p=0.0004 and p=0.03). Neither frog showed positive correlation for the number of prey ingested to the average SVL (p= 0.22 and p= 0.39). Diets overlapped by 60.3% and Gastropods made up the bulk of both diets. Temporal patterns in the frequency of ingestion were demonstrated by the Orders Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, and Diplopoda