Abstract
The genus Epomis is represented in Israel by two species: Epomis dejeani and Epomis circumscriptus. In the central coastal plain these species are sympatric but do not occur in the same sites. The objective of this study was to record and describe trophic interactions between the adult beetles and amphibian species occurring in the central coastal plain of Israel. Day and night surveys at three sites, as well as controlled laboratory experiments were conducted for studying beetle-amphibian trophic interaction. In the field we recorded three cases of Epomis dejeani preying upon amphibian metamorphs and also found that Epomis adults share shelters with amphibians. Laboratory experiments supported the observations that both Epomis species can prey on amphibians. Predation of the three anuran species (Bufo viridis, Hyla savignyi and Rana bedriagae) and two urodele species (Triturus vittatus and Salamandra salamandra infraimmaculata) is described. Only Epomis dejeani consumed Triturus vittatus. Therefore, we conclude that the two species display a partial overlap in food habit.
Highlights
Invertebrates are known predators of juvenile and adult amphibians
The two species were never found in the same site (Fig. 1); E. dejeani was found in Berekhat Ya’ar and Samar, whereas E. circumscriptus was found in Dora, Qadima and Kefar Netter
79 daytime surveys we recorded adult beetles co-occurring with amphibians under the same shelters (Table 3; URL: Amphibian - Adult Epomis interaction)
Summary
Invertebrates are known predators of juvenile and adult amphibians. The majority of reports list arachnids (e.g. Formanowicz 1981; McCormick and Polis 1982; Dehling 2007) and aquatic hemipterans A few studies report predation by ants (Freed and Neitman 1988; Zuffi 2001; Ward-Fear et al 2009) and by adult beetles (McCormick and Polis 1982; Hinshaw and Sullivan 1990; Jung et al 2000). The latter involves mostly carabid beetles (Littlejohn and Wainer 1978; Ovaska and Smith 1988; Robertson 1989)
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