NORTH-WESTERN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 17 (1): 92-95 ©NWJZ, Oradea, Romania, 2021

Article No.: e211504 http://biozoojournals.ro/nwjz/index.html

Notes on diet composition and reproduction of Chiasmocleis hudsoni

(Anura: Microhylidae: Gastrophryninae)
from eastern Brazilian Amazonia

Maria M. S. SANTANA1, Aline E. OLIVEIRA-SOUZA1, Natália M. C. CARDOSO1,

Tamylles S. REIS1, Patrick R. SANCHES2,* and Carlos E. COSTA-CAMPOS1

1. Laboratório de Herpetologia, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Amapá,

Campus Marco Zero do Equador, 68.903-419, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil.
2. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia (Biologia),
Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.
*Corresponding author, P.R. Sanches, E-mail: patricksanchs@gmail.com

Received: 23. May 2020 / Accepted: 04. March 2021 / Available online: 15. march 2021 / Printed: June 2021

Abstract. Chiasmocleis hudsoni is a small fossorial anuran widely distributed in the Amazon basin. Due to its fossorial habit and
explosive breeding pattern, individuals are rarely found, and data on the natural history of this species are scarce. Here we provide
data on the diet composition and reproductive aspects of C. hudsoni from eastern Brazilian Amazonia. We found 20 prey categories
within eight orders in the stomachs of 106 specimens of C. hudsoni. The index of relative importance showed that Formicidae (48.3%)
was the most represented prey category in the diet. Oocytes ranged from 202 to 297 per female (n = 4, mean = 250, SD = 67.2), with a
diameter varying from 0.9 to 1.3 mm (n = 4, mean = 1.1 mm, SD = 0.1 mm). Similar to other Chiasmocleis species, mites were a large
fraction of the diet of C. hudsoni in eastern Amazonia, which differs from most leaf-litter dwelling anurans that do not prey on large
amounts of mites. The explosive breeding pattern found in Microhylidae frogs is likely to be observed in C. hudsoni and the size
fecundity relationship may be related to the process of sexual size dimorphism observed.
Key words: natural history, oocytes, myrmecophagy, acariphagy, size-fecundity.

Introduction ra Preta (0.9027° N, 52.0049° W; datum WGS84), in the municipality

of Serra do Navio, state of Amapá, north Brazil. Climate of this area
Studies on natural history are especially relevant to under- is Equatorial according to the Köppen-Geiger classification with
mean annual precipitation about 2,850 mm in the period of monsoon
standing interactions between individuals and their envi-
between February and May, when the monthly rainfall is approxi-
ronment and are important for the establishment of conser- mately 400 mm (Alvares et al. 2013). The area of CMNP covers ap-
vation policies (Wells 2007). Basic data on natural history of proximately 370 ha of primary forests, including terra-firme rainforest
many anurans are still poorly known and limited for some and flooded forest (Silva e Silva & Costa-Campos 2018).
species even the most basic biological data such as diet and Specimens were collected during nocturnal surveys conducted
reproductive biology are lacking (Bland et al. 2017). monthly between February to March 2018 in temporary isolated
The family Microhylidae represents one of the four most ponds in the forest, using “visual encounter surveys” and “auditory
search” (Heyer et al. 1994), under permit SISBIO number 48102-2 is-
species-rich anuran clades with 688 recognized nominal spe-
sued by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA-ICMBio).
cies (Frost 2020). Chiasmocleis Méhely, 1904 is considered the
Specimens were killed with topical application of 2% Lidocaine to
most diversified genus, comprising 36 species widely dis- the abdomen, a fast-acting and effective means of euthanasia (Leary
tributed through South America to the north and east of the et al. 2013). Direct extraction of stomach content rather than non-
Andes (Frost 2020). Due to their various levels of fossoriality lethal techniques (e. g. stomach-flushing) was justified because spec-
and their low representativeness in anuran communities, de- imens were also part of research on helminth parasites, which re-
tailed information regarding the natural history of Chi- quires euthanasia. The 106 voucher specimens were fixed in 10%
asmocleis species is poorly known (Haddad & Hödl 1997, formalin, stored in 70% ethanol and deposited in the Herpetological
Collection of Universidade Federal do Amapá (CECC 1419, 1420,
Cordioli et al. 2019, Da Silva et al. 2019).
1449, 1450, 1452–1463, 1480–1484, 1527–1529, 1854–1866, 1872, 1873,
Chiasmocleis hudsoni (Parker 1940) is a small Gas- 1875–1880, 1882–1888, 2020, 2063–2079, 2092–2099, 2126–2135, 2142–
trophryninae frog widely distributed in Venezuela, Guyana, 2155, 2259–2262).
Colombia, Suriname and French Guiana (Peloso et al. 2014). After sacrificing the specimens and prior to fixing them, we re-
In Brazil it has been reported in some regions of the Amazon moved the stomachs through a small abdominal incision and ex-
basin (Costa-Campos et al. 2019, Frost 2020). This species is tracted their contents. The items found in the stomach contents were
an explosive breeder with a nocturnal, terrestrial and fosso- analyzed and identified to the taxonomic category of order, follow-
ing the identification keys of Rafael et al. (2012), except for Formici-
rial lifestyle that inhabits streamside ponds in primary
dae (ants), which were classified to the genus level. Subfamilies and
forests (Lima et al. 2006, Rodrigues et al. 2008). Here, we
genera of Formicidae were identified following Baccaro et al. (2015).
provide much needed data on the diet composition and on The maximum length and width of all prey items of each catego-
some reproductive aspects of C. hudsoni from eastern Brazili- ry were measured and had their volume calculated using the ellip-
an Amazonia. soid formula (Colli et al. 1992). We determined the percentages of
number, volume and frequency of occurrence of each prey category
and calculated an index of relative importance (IRI) (Pinkas et al.
Materials and methods 1971). To calculate the trophic niche breadth, we used the Levin’s in-
dex (Pianka 1986). Niche breadth values from 0.0 to 0.50 are inter-
We conducted fieldwork at Cancão Municipal Natural Park preted as specialist habit, and values from 0.51 to 1.0 denote a gener-
(CMNP), east of the Amapari River, 2.5 km NW of the village of Ped- alist diet (Hurlbert 1978).
Notes on diet and reproduction of Chiasmocleis hudsoni 93
We measured each specimen’s snout-to-vent length (SVL) with a Table 1. Prey categories of Chiasmocleis hudsoni at Cancão Municipal
Mitutoyo digital caliper to the nearest 0.01 mm. We determined the Natural Park, municipality of Serra do Navio, Amapá, north Brazil.
sex of individuals by dissection and direct observation of gonads N = number of prey items; N (%) = relative abundance; F = fre-
and through the presence of secondary sexual characters in males quency of occurrence; F (%) = relative frequency; V = volume of
(dermal spines). We obtained mature ovarian eggs of gravid females prey items; V (%) relative volume; IRI= Index of Relative Im-
caught in the field. We dissected females and removed their ovaries portance.
to record the number of oocytes and measure their mean diameter
Prey categories N N (%) F F (%) V V (%) IRI
with an ocular micrometer in a Zeiss stereomicroscope (Z Series
Modular Zoom stereo microscope with Standard HWF10X/23 mm Acari 60 24.8 32 33.3 9.3 5.9 21.3
eyepieces). Collembola 3 1.2 3 3.1 0.6 0.4 1.6
We applied a simple linear regression to verify the possible rela- Coleoptera 5 2.1 5 5.2 4.1 2.6 3.3
tionship between SVL with the volume of the largest prey for each Coleoptera larvae 1 0.4 1 1.0 0.1 0.05 0.5
individual, and SVL with the number and mean diameter of the oo- Isopoda 1 0.4 1 1.0 8.8 5.6 2.4
cytes observed in each female. Also, we performed an Analysis of Hymenoptera
Variance (ANOVA) to test for differences in Snout-Vent Length Formicidae
(SVL) among sexes. Statistical tests were performed using R software
Myrmicinae
4.0.3 (R Development Core Team 2015).
Apterostigma sp. 18 7.4 3 3.1 11.6 7.4 6.0
Carebara sp. 2 0.8 1 1.0 1.0 0.7 0.8
Results Crematogaster sp. 9 3.7 3 3.1 7.6 4.8 3.9
Cyphomyrmex sp. 16 6.6 1 1.0 6.5 4.1 3.9
Pheidole sp. 23 9.5 8 8.3 3 1.9 6.6
We analyzed 106 individuals of C. hudsoni (98 males and 8
Solenopsis sp. 23 9.5 7 7.3 14.9 9.4 8.7
females). Eighteen individuals (16.9%) had empty stomachs.
Strumigenys sp. 1 0.4 1 1.0 0.4 0.3 0.6
We found 20 prey items from 8 orders (Acari, Isopoda, Cole-
Wasmannia sp. 42 17.4 15 15.6 7.4 4.7 12.6
optera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, Collembola and
Ponerinae
Isoptera). The IRI showed that Formicidae (IRI: 48.3) was the
Hypoponera sp. 5 2.1 5 5.2 4.4 2.8 3.3
most represented prey category in the diet of C. hudsoni, fol-
Dolichoderinae
lowed by Acari (IRI: 21.3) and Isoptera (IRI: 21.1). In terms of
Tapinoma melancocephalum 1 0.4 1 1.0 0.4 0.2 0.6
prey volume, the highest values were from Isoptera (V:
Dorylinae
47.9%) and Formicidae (V: 27.1%) (Table 1). Formicidae was
Nomamyrmex sp. 1 0.4 1 1.04 1.4 0.9 0.8
represented by 5 subfamilies and 12 genera, the most repre-
Formicinae
sentative were Wasmannia (IRI: 12.6), Solenopsis (IRI: 8.7) and
Paratrechina sp. 1 0.4 1 1.0 0.4 0.2 0.6
Pheidole (IRI: 6.6) (Table 1). We did not find significant posi- Hemiptera 1 0.4 1 1.0 0.2 0.1 0.5
tive correlation between SVL of C. hudsoni and volume of the Diptera (larvae) 2 0.8 2 2.1 0.3 0.2 1.0
largest prey (rs = 0.2724; p = 0.0352). The niche breadth was Isoptera 27 11.2 4 4.2 75.7 47.9 21.1
0.17. Total 242 100 96 100 158 100 100
Chiasmocleis hudsoni were observed in temporary isolated
ponds in the forest during the peak of rainy season (Febru-
ary to March 2018) with two sympatric frogs, Leptodactylus ported as strictly myrmecophagous and acariphagous (Si-
mystaceus and L. petersii. Male C. hudsoni were observed call- mon & Toft 1991, Van Sluys et al. 2006, Araújo et al. 2009,
ing after heavy rain within the leaf litter around temporary Lopes et al. 2017, Da Silva et al. 2019, Diaz-Perez et al. 2020).
ponds, in decomposing tree branches and covered by a layer While living buried most of the time, Chiasmocleis species
of leaf litter. Amplectant pairs, clutches or tadpoles were not usually fed on semi-fossorial soil abundant organisms which
found during sampling. All oocytes were obtained from the aggregate in colonies, such as epigean ants, mites and ter-
abdominal cavity of females and referring as clutch size the mites (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990, Fowler 1993). These inver-
number of oocytes per female. tebrates are amongst the most abundant in tropical forests,
Females were larger in SVL and have a mean SVL about maintaining large numbers of individuals on the soil and
3.11 mm larger than males (F(1,102) = 53.82, p < 0.00001). The leaf litter.
mean clutch size per female was 250 ± 67.2 (range 202–297, n Termites were an important item in the diet of C. hudsoni
= 4). Mean diameter of oocytes (n = 30 per female) was 1.1 ± and high representative in terms of volume. Intake of ter-
0.1 mm (range 0.9–1.3 mm). The number of oocytes per fe- mites may be advantageous from both nutritional and ener-
male was significantly associated with SVL (rs = 0.54, p = getic point of view, due to their high levels of carbohydrates
0.006). However, there was no significant correlation be- and less sclerotised material (Forti et al. 2011). Anurans ex-
tween SVL and oocyte diameter (rs = 0.15, p = 0.09). ploiting termites may be related to high energetic gain dur-
ing periods of reproduction which demands higher energy
expenditure. It has also been reported in the diets C. hudsoni
Discussion and C. shudikarensis from central Amazonia (Da Silva et al.
2019), C. mehelyi (Diaz-Perez et al. 2020), C. albopunctata
Our population of C. hudsoni is primarily myrmecophagous, (Araújo et al. 2009) and other microhylid species such as
consuming mainly ants and mites. In another population of Dermatonotus muelleri (Carrillo et al. 2020), Elachistocleis bicol-
C. hudsoni from central Amazonia, the frogs showed the or (Berazategui et al. 2007) and E. ovalis (Solé et al. 2002).
same preferences (Da Silva et al. 2019). Other Chiasmocleis The nests of termites and ants are often patchy distribut-
species, from Amazonia and Atlantic rainforest, are also re- ed in the soil (Levings & Franks 1982, Lofgren & Vander
94 M.M.S. Santana et al.

Meer 1986, Torres et al. 2020) suggesting that C. hudsoni ac- many times during the rainy season over short periods (Pra-
tively search on these preys. In addition, C. hudsoni con- do et al. 2005).
sumed mainly on Solenopsis and Pheidole ants which are Our analyses showed that female SVL was positively
known aggregate in enormous colonies that hold large correlated with clutch size. Female anuran fecundity appears
populations above and underneath the soil (Lofgren & to be related to a process of selection of larger females that
Vander Meer 1986, Hölldobler & Wilson 1990). This pattern could generate sharp sexual size dimorphism (Shine 1979),
of diet is generally classified as “ant specialist”, usually as- as seems to be the case for C. hudsoni since we found signifi-
signed to species such as Microhylidae frogs that consume cant differences between males and females SVL. On the
high amounts of ants and other chitinous slow-moving ar- other hand, the evolution of burrowing behavior and its role
thropods (Toft 1980, 1981). However, a very few studies es- on sexual dimorphism in fossorial anurans have been dis-
timate resource availability data to support a selective be- cussed recently, with reference to Leptodactyline frogs
havior on Chiasmocleis and other microhylid species (e. g. Di- (Ponssa & Barrionuevo 2012, Ponssa & Medina 2016). As
az-Perez et al. 2020). well as Leptodactyline frogs, some Microhylidae species also
Microhylid frogs are small fossorial and narrow-headed construct subterranean chambers to deposit their eggs and
frogs, leading to a limitation and a tendency to consume develop early larval stages (Nomura et al. 2009). Conse-
small and abundant leaf-litter prey. This was also observed quently, the burrowing behavior may be linked to the reduc-
in small species from generalist guilds studied in the same tion in male morphometry because in anurans, chambers to
region, which demonstrated a tendency toward consuming deposit foam nests are often constructed by males. However,
ants and mites in high proportions (Sanches et al. 2019, Cor- this question is still to be investigated in Microhylidae spe-
rêa et al. 2020), supporting that small ground-dwelling frogs cies since sexual dimorphism has been reported (Van Sluys
capitalize on ants and mites due to their abundance on the et al. 2006, Diaz-Perez et al. 2020, Nascimento et al. 2020).
leaf litter of tropical forests and due to their limitation in Natural history studies are unarguably a solid basis for
consuming larger preys that are more pleasant to ingest (Si- hypothesis-driven studies from different research fields. It
mon & Toft 1991). may be an important means by which we gather data on bio-
Despite resource availability was not investigated in C. logical aspects of rare and hard to detect species in the field,
hudsoni, descriptions of ants in refined taxonomic scales given that these species are often understudied in long-term
demonstrated differences between our population of C. hud- ecological research. In addition, natural history studies com-
soni and that of central Amazon with regards to myrme- pile fundamental information to design and conduct long-
cophagy. Da Silva et al. (2019) reported ants of the genus term ecological research to provide a scientific basis for the
Crematogaster and Pheidole as the most important ants in the conservation of populations and species (Hampton &
diet of C. hudsoni from central Amazon, whereas C. hudsoni Wheeler 2012). Chiasmocleis species were poorly studied for a
from our population consumed mainly on Wasmannia and long time, probably due to the typical explosive breeding
Solenopsis ants. This difference of ants consumed in distinct pattern of some species leading to an unregular calling activ-
areas point out a non-selective behavior among types of ity through the seasons along with the semi-fossorial habits
ants, and possibly is an artifact of distinct ant assemblage be- of these frogs, making them hard to detect.
tween regions. Also, Chiasmocleis frogs seem to lack an alka-
loid sequestering system, a premise for selective behavior on
potential alkaloid-containing ants observed in Dendrobatids
Acknowledgement. The authors thank Fabio Hepp and two
and Bufonids (Mebs et al. 2010). In sum, we suggest that the
anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript. The
feeding behavior of C. hudsoni needs further investigation authors thank J.C. Sousa, and M.R. Dias-Souza for their help with the
before major statements, addressing food resource availabil- field work. M.M. Salviano-Santana and A.E. Oliveira-Souza received
ity to accurately test if ant-eating is due to resource availabil- a scholarship of the Programa Voluntário de Iniciação Científica
ity and morphological constraints related to the fossorial (PROVIC) of Universidade Federal do Amapá.
habits and small size of the species.
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