Trophic activity of amphibians as a factor influencing the state of ecosystems of the Dnipro River valley

Abstract

The problems of disruption and transformation of natural ecosystems have reached a significant level and directly affect the state of human life: there is the existence of harmful insects, their resistance to chemical compounds, etc. Therefore, the functional significance of zoocenosis is manifested in various aspects: digging, excretory, trophic and other types of animal activity. The importance of the trophic activity of amphibians lies in their consumption of a significant number of harmful insect species. It is animals that act as consumers of various kinds in the conditions of natural ecosystems, take an active part in the movement of energy along trophic chains. The trophic activity of animals is also important in regulating the number of groups of invertebrates of different systematic groups, it is one of the factors that contributes to the maintenance of the system in a state of homeostasis and the speed of its recovery. Attention is also paid to regulating the number of invertebrates, as well as poisonous species among them, species that cause human diseases or are their carriers. Amphibians do not have a specific food specialization and are consumers of any available food. The food spectrum also expands as individuals grow and due to the consumption of larger prey. The main component of amphibian nutrition is insects, they make up about 75% of the diet. Phytophages on average make up 60–85% of the total weight of food in the food of amphibians. The coefficient of usefulness and the share of biomass of various pests in different types of amphibian floodplains range from 52 to 84. As a rule, the ratio of different food objects of amphibians corresponds to their ratio in individual parts of ecosystems. Thanks to the trophic activity of amphibians, the number of pests is regulated, which is important in floodplains of rivers, and the number of energy consumers of a higher level, such as birds and mammals, depends on the trophic activity of amphibians. This fact proves that amphibians are a necessary component of the food chains of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The trophic activity of amphibians affects the stability and plasticity of ecosystems, species diversity of both zoocenosis and phytocenosis in terrestrial and aquatic systems, as well as on the boundaries between them.