New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam
The Black-spotted Paddy Frog (Micryletta nigromaculata) was recently discovered from northern Vietnam. Due to its restricted distribution in limestone karst forests and habitat degradation, the endemic species has been listed as “Endangered” in the IUCN Red List. However, knowledge about the natural...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Firenze University Press
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Acta Herpetologica |
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| Online Access: | https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/ah/article/view/14516 |
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| author | Anh Van Pham Truong Quang Nguyen Nenh Ba Sung Thuy Van Tran Minh Duc Le Hai Ngoc Ngo |
| author_facet | Anh Van Pham Truong Quang Nguyen Nenh Ba Sung Thuy Van Tran Minh Duc Le Hai Ngoc Ngo |
| author_sort | Anh Van Pham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Black-spotted Paddy Frog (Micryletta nigromaculata) was recently discovered from northern Vietnam. Due to its restricted distribution in limestone karst forests and habitat degradation, the endemic species has been listed as “Endangered” in the IUCN Red List. However, knowledge about the natural history of this species is scarce, including data on its dietary ecology. Recent field surveys revealed new populations of M. nigromaculata occurring in Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam based on morphological analysis. Using the stomach-flushing method, we analyzed stomach contents of 45 individuals (21 males and 24 females) from a total of 52 captured frogs because stomachs of six males and one female (13.5%) were empty. The food spectrum of M. nigromaculata comprises 12 types with a total of 691 prey items (687 invertebrate items and four unidentified items), belonging to six insect orders, larvae and Araneae. Similar to other species of the family Microhylidae, M. nigromaculata is also identified as an ant (Formicidae) – termite (Rhinotermitidae) eating specialist with distinctly higher percentages of occurrence frequency (F = 65 %), number of prey items (N = 80 %), and importance (Ix = 75 %) than those of remaining types. The Simpson diversity index of 0.939 shows a high abundance of food prey in the wild, and the Evenness index of 0.536 suggests biased consumption of feeding selection for M. nigromaculata.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:54:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2107521f2af847148120715dd646781e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1827-9635 1827-9643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:54:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Firenze University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Herpetologica |
| spelling | doaj.art-2107521f2af847148120715dd646781e2023-12-28T14:32:57ZengFirenze University PressActa Herpetologica1827-96351827-96432023-12-0118210.36253/a_h-14516New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from VietnamAnh Van Pham0Truong Quang Nguyen1Nenh Ba Sung2Thuy Van Tran3Minh Duc Le4Hai Ngoc Ngo5Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Science, Vietnam National UniversityInstitute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and TechnologyTay Bac UniversityFaculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Science, Vietnam National UniversityFaculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Science, Vietnam National UniversityInstitute of Genome Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and TechnologyThe Black-spotted Paddy Frog (Micryletta nigromaculata) was recently discovered from northern Vietnam. Due to its restricted distribution in limestone karst forests and habitat degradation, the endemic species has been listed as “Endangered” in the IUCN Red List. However, knowledge about the natural history of this species is scarce, including data on its dietary ecology. Recent field surveys revealed new populations of M. nigromaculata occurring in Son La Province, northwestern Vietnam based on morphological analysis. Using the stomach-flushing method, we analyzed stomach contents of 45 individuals (21 males and 24 females) from a total of 52 captured frogs because stomachs of six males and one female (13.5%) were empty. The food spectrum of M. nigromaculata comprises 12 types with a total of 691 prey items (687 invertebrate items and four unidentified items), belonging to six insect orders, larvae and Araneae. Similar to other species of the family Microhylidae, M. nigromaculata is also identified as an ant (Formicidae) – termite (Rhinotermitidae) eating specialist with distinctly higher percentages of occurrence frequency (F = 65 %), number of prey items (N = 80 %), and importance (Ix = 75 %) than those of remaining types. The Simpson diversity index of 0.939 shows a high abundance of food prey in the wild, and the Evenness index of 0.536 suggests biased consumption of feeding selection for M. nigromaculata. https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/ah/article/view/14516 Formicidaeprey itemsRhinotermitidaeSon La Provincestomach contents |
| spellingShingle | Anh Van Pham Truong Quang Nguyen Nenh Ba Sung Thuy Van Tran Minh Duc Le Hai Ngoc Ngo New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam Acta Herpetologica Formicidae prey items Rhinotermitidae Son La Province stomach contents |
| title | New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam |
| title_full | New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam |
| title_fullStr | New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam |
| title_full_unstemmed | New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam |
| title_short | New record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species, Micryletta nigromaculata Poyarkov, Nguyen, Duong, Gorin & Yang, 2018, from Vietnam |
| title_sort | new record and dietary ecology of an endangered amphibian species micryletta nigromaculata poyarkov nguyen duong gorin yang 2018 from vietnam |
| topic | Formicidae prey items Rhinotermitidae Son La Province stomach contents |
| url | https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/ah/article/view/14516 |
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