Diet of nonnative Hyla cinerea in a Chihuahuan Desert wetland
Leavitt DJ and Fitzgerald LA. 2009. Diet of nonnative Hyla cinerea in a Chihuahuan Desert wetland. Journal of Herpetology. 43(3):541–545
Hyla cinerea recently introduced to a Chihuahuan Desert wetland in Big Bend National Park, Texas consumed a variety of terrestrial arthropods. We investigated its diet to analyze a component of colonizing potential for this species. Of 105 individuals analyzed, we found a total of 194 prey items representing 13 unique categories. The most important prey, determined with a quotient that combines volume and count with frequency, were beetles, cockroaches, grasshoppers and crickets, ants, and spiders. We documented the first occurrence of Scorpiones in the diet of H. cinerea, which demonstrates this invader’s ability to exploit novel resource types outside of its native range. In comparison to other dietary studies conducted on H. cinerea, this nonnative population feeds on a similar diversity of prey in equal proportions. This analysis represents a first step into evaluating ecological effects of this nonnative population of H. cinerea.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Leavitt, Daniel; Fitzgerald, Lee
- Units
- BIBE
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Exotic/Invasive Species - Animals, Frog, Hyla cinerea, Reptiles/Amphibians