Diet of Andinobates minutus (Anura: Dendrobatidae) in a tropical rainforest from La Palma island, Colombia

Abstract

Andinobates minutus es una especie de la familia Dendrobatidae con una amplia distribución en Colombia, presenta algunos tipos de alcaloides lipofílicos y su dieta no ha sido caracterizada. En este estudio se describe la dieta de una población de A. minutus proveniente de la isla La Palma (Buenaventura, Colombia). El estudio de 59 contenidos estomacales muestra que la dieta está compuesta por artrópodos de las clases Crustacea, Arachnida e Insecta. En los contenidos estomacales se encontraron 1336 presas enteras pertenecientes a 29 categorías de presa. Los individuos se contaron y midieron en ancho y largo para calcular su volumen con la fórmula del elipsoide; además, se estimó la frecuencia. Las categorías de presa más importantes, de acuerdo con el Índice de importancia (I) fueron: Acari (I= 86,31), larvas de Insecta (I= 30,97) y Formicidae (I= 26,52).

Andinobates minutus is a species belonging to the Dendrobatidae family with a relatively widespread distribution in Colombia. It has some classes of lipophilic alkaloids in its skin and its diet is completely unknown. In this work, the diet of a population of this amphibian, found in La Palma Island (Buenaventura, Colombia), was studied. Based on the analysis of 59 gut contents, the diet of this tropical frog seems to be composed mainly of small preys. The main classes of arthropods were Crustacea, Arachnida and Insecta. A total of 1336 prey gut contents belonging to 29 prey categories were found. All individuals were counted and measured in length and width to obtain their volume using the ellipsoid equation; also, the frequency of occurrence was estimated. According to the index of importance (I), the most important prey categories were Acari (I= 86,31), Insect larvae (I= 30,97) and Formicidae (I= 26,52).