Population density and food analysis of Bombina variegata and Rana graeca in mountainous riverine ecosystems of northern Pindos (Greece)
Date
2007-06-20Publisher
ResearchGateSource
Journal of Biological Research-ThessalonikiVolume
8Pages
137-137Google Scholar check
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Abundance and diet of Bombina variegata and Rana graeca were investigated from August 2004to August 2005 in two permanent mountain water bodies (Zesto River and Prioni Nazeti Stream)situated in the National Park of Northern Pindos (Greece). At Zesto, we recorded high popula-tion densities for both anuran species, while at Nazeti population density was high only for R.graeca. In the diet of B. variegata and of R.graeca, a large variety of prey taxa was identified inthe stomach contents, suggesting that they are opportunistic predators. However, at both sites,the study species principally consumed five prey groups, i.e. ants, spiders, flies, terrestrial bee-tles and aquatic insect larvae. A comparison of prey size consumed by adults revealed that B.var-iegata feeds on smaller prey than R.graeca. Furthermore, intraspecific differences based on preysize were obtained for adults and sub-adults of R.graeca. In this study we found that prey size isa possible factor of niche partitioning for anuran species