How do we share food? Feeding of four amphibian species from an aquatic habitat in south–western Romania

Abstract

The feeding of four amphibian species (Triturus cristatus, Lissotriton vulgaris, Bombina variegata, Pelophylax ridibundus) was studied in 2011, in south–western Romania. The diet of the newts was uniform and mostly composed of aquatic preys The diet of the anurans was more diversified, comprising more prey taxa, mostly terrestrial. The trophic niches of the two newt species overlapped highly but differed from those of the anurans. The trophic niches of the anurans differed from one another. The differences among the four species’ diets were determined by the use of different trophic resources, originating from different environments, and by their different sizes. The newts’ diet was less diversified because the aquatic habitat was small and poor in trophic availability. The anurans used the aquatic habitat as a base from where they captured terrestrial preys in the surrounding terrestrial environment.