Abstract
Anurans are capable of changing their activity time to enhance their foraging. The present study investigated the diet of the Bufotes sitibundus. The 85 toads examined in the present study had consumed a total of 2.189 preys from the three phyla, Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. Insects from the arthropods phylum constituted the primary food items consumed by the green toads at 94.97%. The Formicidae family was the most essential food item for the eastern green toads. The green toad prefers nocturnal hunting and terrestrial insects out of the water environment, and a direct relationship was observed between the size of toads and the number of food items they consumed. Statistical results indicated that male and female toads had no significant difference in terms of diet. The number of males in the reproductive habitat exceeded females by far, which implies sex-biased migration.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Burton, T. and Likens, G., Energy flow and nutrient cycling in salamander populations in the Hubbard brook experiments, New Hampshire, Ecology, 1975, vol. 56, pp. 1068–1080.
Caldwell, J.P., The evolution of myrmechophagy and its correlates in poison frogs (Family Dendrobatidae), J. Zool. Lond., 1996, vol. 240, pp. 75–101.
Çiçek, K., Food composition of Uludağ frog, Rana macrocnemis Boulenger, 1885 in Uludağ (Bursa, Turkey), Acta Herpetol., 2011, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 87–99.
Duellman, W.E. and Trueb, L., Biology of Amphibians, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986.
Enriquez-Urzelai, U., San Sebastián, O., Garriga, N., and Llorente, G., Food availability determines the response to pond desiccation in anuran tadpoles, Oecologia, 2013, vol. 173, pp. 117–127.
Fowler, J., Cohen, L., and Jarvis, P., Practical Statistics for Field Biology, Chichester: Wiley, 1998.
Hirai, T., and Matsui, M., Feeding habits of the Japanese tree frog, Hyla japonica, in the reproductive season, Zool. Sci., 2000, vol. 17, pp. 977–982.
Inatsuchi, A., Yamato, S., and Yusa, Y., Effects of temperature and food availability on growth and reproduction in the neustonic pedunculate barnacle Lepas anserifera, Mar. Biol., 2010, vol. 157, pp. 899–905.
Isailović, J.C., Curcic, S., Stojadinovic, D., Kolarov, N.T., Aleksic, I., and Tomanovic, Z., Diet composition and food preferences in adult common toads (Bufo bufo) (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae), J. Herpetol., 2012, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 562–567.
Kovacs, I., David, A., Ferenţi, S., and Dimancea, N., The food composition of two brown frog populations (Rana dalmatina and Rana temporaria) from Sălaj County, Romania, Biharean Biol., 2010, vol. 4, pp. 7–14.
Measey, G.J., Diet of feral Xenopus laevis (Daudin) in South Wales, U. K. J. Zool. Lond., 1998, vol. 246, pp. 287–298.
Mollov, I., Sex based differences in the trophic niche of Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) (Amphibia: Anura) from Bulgaria, Acta Zool. Bulg., 2008, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 277–284.
Muths, E., Home range and movements of boreal toads in undisturbed habitat, Copeia., 2003, no. 1, pp. 160–165.
Najibzadeh, M., Gharzi, A., Rastegar-Pouyani, N., Rastegar-Pouyani, E., and Pesarakloo, A., Habits of the endemic long legged wood frog, Rana pseudodalmatina (Amphibia, Ranidae), in Northern Iran, Vestn. Zool., 2016, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 363–368.
Nicoara, A., Nicoara, M., Bianchini, F., Diet composition during breeding period in population of Bufo viridis, Pelobates fuscus and Rana esculenta complex from Ciric River’s basin (IAŞI, Romania), Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii “Al.I. Cuza” Iaşi, s. Biologie animală, 2005, vol. LI.
Oana, I. H., Andrei, B., Daniel, G., Larisa, B., and Simona, T., The trophic spectrum of two brown frog populations (Rana dalmatina and Rana temporaria) from Baia de Fier area, Romania, Herpetol. Roman., 2010, vol. 4, pp. 7–16.
Parker, M.L. and Goldstein M.I., Diet of the Rio Granade leopard frog (Rana berlandieri) in Texas, J. Herpetol., 2004, vol. 38, pp. 127–130.
Pesarakloo, A., Rastegar-Pouyani, N., Rastegar-Pouyani, E., Najibzadeh, M., Shakarami, J., Kami, H.G., and Shayestehfar, A., Feeding biology and food composition in Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas 1771) in the Iranian plateau, Russ. J. Herpetol., 2017, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 91–98.
Plötner, J., Becker, C., and Plötner K., Morphometric and DNA investigations into European water frogs (Rana kl. esculenta Synklepton?? (Anura, Ranidae)) from different population systems, J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res., 1994, vol. 32, pp. 193–210.
Solé, M., Beckmann, O., Pelz, B., Kwet, A.N., and Engels, W., Stomach-flushing for diet analysis in anurans: an improved protocol evaluated in a case study in Araucaria forests, southern Brazil, Stud. Neotrop. Fauna Environ., 2005, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 23–28.
Strüssmann, C., Beatriz Ribeiro do Vale, M., Meneghini, M.H., and Magnusson, W.E., Diet and foraging mode of Bufo marinus and Leptodactylus ocellatus, J. Herpetol., 1984, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 138–146.
Wells, K.D., The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians, Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pesarakloo, A., Hoseinabad, M. Food Composition of a Breeding Population of the Green Toad, Bufotes sitibundus (Pallas, 1771) (Anura: Bufonidae), from Iran. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 50, 157–161 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359022700029
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359022700029