Showing papers on "Rhinella schneideri published in 2009"
TL;DR: Studying the diet behaviors and trophic parameters of sympatric species provides important data for understanding the community and for the development of conservation guidelines.
Abstract: Niche overlap and resource partitioning among five sympatric bufonids (Anura, Bufonidae) from northeastern Argentina. The niche overlap and resource partitioning were analyzed for five sympatric bufonids from Northeastern Argenti- na: Rhinella schneideri, R. bergi, R. fernandezae, R. granulosa, and Melanophryniscus cupreuscapularis. The primary objectives were to analyze the diet and pattern of coexistence relative to the microhabitats among species. The bufonids, which are primarily terrestrial, exhibited a preference for small, hard prey such as formicids or coleopterans. The smallest species preferably consumed ants, while R. schneideri preferred beetles. Significant differences were detected for the diets of these five species. In addition, significant overlap in the trophic niche was noted for all species except between R. granulosa and R. schneideri. Studying the diet behaviors and trophic parameters of sympatric species provides important data for understanding the community and for the development of conservation guidelines.
40 citations
TL;DR: The changes observed in the extracutaneous pigment system in some organs, during the reproductive period, may be due to physiological alterations or may represent a species-specific characteristic.
Abstract: The present investigation examined the extracutaneous pigmentation pattern of three species of anuran amphibians, Dendropsophus nanus, Physalaemus cuvieri, and Rhinella schneideri, during the course of their breeding seasons Pigmentation intensity in the different organs was graded on a 4-category scale, in which category 0 refers to organs without pigment and category 3 refers to intensely pigmented organs, with 2 intermediate stages of progressively stronger pigmentation Rhinella schneideri showed testicular pigmentation, with intra-specific variation (categories 0 and 1) In P cuvieri the pigmentation in the lungs varied in time: all the animals showed pigmentation (category 1) at the beginning of the breeding season, and as the season progressed the absence of pigments became the most common pattern In the liver of the first animals collected, the pigment intensity was high (category 2) with many iridophores present, but in the last specimens collected no iridophores were found The vari
19 citations
01 Apr 2009
TL;DR: It was found that tadpoles reared with no predators had relatively longer guts than those rearing with caged predators, and the reduction in gut length appears to interplay between behaviour, life history, morphology and physiology.
Abstract: According to the adaptive plasticity hypothesis, predator-induced traits in potential prey animals are expected to have costs for those organisms in predatorfree environments. In this study, we analysed if the intestinal length, tail length and body length changes in Rhinella schneideri tadpoles when the tadpoles were exposed to caged predators (Belostoma elegans). We used a randomized block design with a factorial combination of one density of tadpoles and four densities of caged predators. The predators had a significant impact on gut length and tail length but not on body length. We found that tadpoles reared with no predators had relatively longer guts than those reared with caged predators. The reduction in gut length appears to interplay between behaviour, life history, morphology and physiology.
8 citations