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1 December 2009 Niche Occupancy and the Relative Role of Micro-Habitat and Diet in Resource Partitioning Among Pond Dwelling Tadpoles
Vitor H. M. Do Prado, Mariluce G. Fonseca, Fernanda V. R. De Almeida, Orlando Necchi Junior, Denise De C. Rossa-Feres
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Abstract

We determined microhabitat and diet niche for tadpoles from two ponds in an agricultural landscape. Additionally, we verified the intraspecific variation in resource use, and if diet and microhabitat use were correlated. Tadpoles found in the two ponds differed in microhabitat use, because in the larger pond they explored deeper places far from the margin. There were three groups with high microhabitat niche overlap. In both ponds, plant cover was the best descriptor to explain interspecific variation in microhabitat use. Tadpoles of all species ingested mainly Bacillariophyceae and Trachellomonas however the diet differed intraspecifically in the species from the two ponds. Ten items in the temporary pond and 15 items in the permanent one were ingested by all species; however, the relative abundance of each item differed. Diet similarity was not correlated to similarity in microhabitat use. In this study, diet was as important as microhabitat use to explain resource partitioning.

© 2009 Brazilian Society of Herpetology
Vitor H. M. Do Prado, Mariluce G. Fonseca, Fernanda V. R. De Almeida, Orlando Necchi Junior, and Denise De C. Rossa-Feres "Niche Occupancy and the Relative Role of Micro-Habitat and Diet in Resource Partitioning Among Pond Dwelling Tadpoles," South American Journal of Herpetology 4(3), 275-285, (1 December 2009). https://doi.org/10.2994/057.004.0311
Received: 4 April 2009; Accepted: 1 October 2009; Published: 1 December 2009
KEYWORDS
Anura
community ecology
niche overlap
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