Abstract
Studies on the exploitation of trophic resources allow to establish interactions between predators and predator-prey, and this dynamic can present fluctuations over time and space. We analysed stomach contents of 19 anuran species from tropical dry forests of Colombia, quantified the overlap between species and identified anuran trophic guilds. Most of the species were generalists in diet (89.5%), some with strong prey dominance and only two species were classified as specialists. Two anurans guilds were identified according to diet structure and habitat use: "ground foraging anurans, consuming Formicidae and Isoptera" and "arboreal 'sit-and-wait' predators, primarily consuming arachnids". A considerable number of species did not clearly group in community trophic structure analysis. The level of taxonomic resolution with that preys are worked affects analysis of trophic niches segregation when analyzing regional and local patterns. Anuran species of tropical dry forest in the Colombian Caribbean display trophic resources partitioning at the level of species and/or morphospecies, as a mechanism of coexistence.
Highlights
Studies on the dynamics of resources use have been a subject of interest in ecology, giving rise to numerous concepts related to interspecific associations
Numerous studies report the relationship that exists between environmental and spatial variability with trophic ecology (Almeida et al 2019, Ceron et al 2019, Le et al 2019) any study that attempts to understand the trophic dynamics of the species that inhabit it must include in its analysis both the spatial and temporal fluctuations of their diets as the level of trophic overlap between taxa, since the diet is mediated by both, habitat type and seasonality; according to this, each type of prey can vary in quantity affecting the overlap (Vitt & Caldwell 2014, Almeida et al 2019, Le et al 2019, Michelin et al 2020)
We explore regional trophic patterns of a group of lowland anuran species from the tropical dry forests of the Colombian Caribbean region
Summary
Studies on the dynamics of resources use have been a subject of interest in ecology, giving rise to numerous concepts related to interspecific associations. The guild concept is referring to species that use a resource in a similar way, and might not be equivalent to the function that this group may have in the system, but it is the first approach to this explanation of functionality. From studies on this topic, it is known that guilds are structured according to available resources. As in other animal groups, guilds have been identified based on food consumption patterns
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