Tadpole nutritional ecology and digestive physiology: Implications for captive rearing of larval anurans.

Abstract

The adaptive tadpole stage allows anurans to exploit food resources in two vastly different environments, and the transition from aquatic larvae to terrestrial carnivores is both dramatic and complex. As seen in many other members of the freshwater aquatic community, the nutritional requirements and characteristic feeding strategies of anuran larvae (tadpoles) are extremely diverse, ranging from herbivory to carnivory and including predation and cannibalism, oophagy, coprophagy, filter-feeding, and hindgut microbial fermentation. Whereas tadpoles as a group are commonly considered herbivorous or omnivorous, many are specialists; understanding species-specific dietary habits is critical for captive rearing projects in zoos and amphibian habitat conservation efforts. Practical applications of this review also encompass studies of amphibian declines, herpetoculture, ecology and evolution, and comparative gastrointestinal morphology and physiology.