Xuan LIU,Yu LUO,Jiaxin CHEN,et al.Diet and Prey Selection of the Invasive American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Southwestern China[J].Asian Herpetological Research(AHR),2015,6(1):34-44.[doi:10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.140044]
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Diet and Prey Selection of the Invasive American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Southwestern China
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Asian Herpetological Research[ISSN:2095-0357/CN:51-1735/Q]

Issue:
2015 VoI.6 No.1
Page:
34-44
Research Field:
Original Article
Publishing date:
2015-03-25

Info

Title:
Diet and Prey Selection of the Invasive American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Southwestern China
Author(s):
Xuan LIU1 Yu LUO2 Jiaxin CHEN3 Yisong GUO4 Changming BAI15 and Yiming LI1*
1 Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,1 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
2 School of Life Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, China
3 School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
4 Department of Ecology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Yunyang Teachers’ College, Danjiangkou 442000, China
5 Key Laboratory of Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
Keywords:
Amphibian decline American bullfrog diet preferences invasive species Babina pleuraden predation
PACS:
-
DOI:
10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.140044
Abstract:
Invasive predators have been widely regarded as one of the principle drivers of the global decline of amphibians, which are among the most threatened vertebrate taxon on Earth. The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is identified as one of the most successful vertebrate invaders and has caused the decline or extinction of some native amphibians in many regions and countries including China. Based on field surveys and stomach content analyses, we examined the diet composition of the invasive bullfrog for the first time in two invaded populations in Yunnan Province, southwestern China, a region of global conservation priority, during the breeding season from 2008 to 2014. Additionally, we conducted the first quantitative study on the prey selection of this global invader among their invaded ranges after controlling for the local anuran assemblage and other aquatic preys in the environment. Our results showed that the range of food items in the stomachs of bullfrogs spanned more than 30 species belonging to ten taxonomic classes. Both of post-metamorphosis individuals and juveniles preyed upon native frogs, independent of the bullfrog’s body size and mouth width. Importantly, Jacobs’ selection index showed a bullfrog preference for the Yunnan pond frog (Babina pleuraden), one native endemic anuran with population decline, in terms of both food volume and occurrence. We therefore provided direct evidence on the predation impact of the invasive bullfrog on an endemic anuran and urged further efforts to prevent the dispersal of this invader into more fragile habitats to reduce their negative impacts on native amphibians.

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