Diet and Habitat Use of Proceratophrys ararype (Anura: Odontophrynidae), an Endemic Frog from the Chapada do Araripe, Northeastern Brazil

Abstract. Informa(on on the use of food resources and habitat are important tools for understanding trophic niche and ecological rela(onships. Many factors can influence the diet and ea(ng habits of anurans. Species of the genus Proceratophrys are important components of the leaf li:er frog communi(es in the Neotropical forests, including P. ararype, a species with restricted distribu(on in northeast Brazil. Therefore, we describe aspects of habitat use and evaluate the diet of P. ararype and compare these results with informa(on on other Proceratophrys species. We collected, dissected, and examined the gastrointes(nal tracts of 40 individuals, among which 55% contained food items, with 11 prey categories iden(fied. We also tested the rela(onship between prey item categories and sampling sites, differences between males and females, and the rela(onship between frog size and prey. The species can be characterized as generalist, and the volume of prey ingested was not related to the average size of the individuals. Addi(onally, the habitat most used by the anuran was leaf li:er; thus, it was inferred that this frog species uses the environment horizontally. The data found and comparisons with the literature suggest that the diet composi(on of P. ararype is determined by the availability of arthropods in the environment. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding habitat use, highligh(ng opportunis(c behavior, such as the pa:ern found for anuran amphibians, contribu(ng to elucidate the biology of anurans with relictual distribu(on, especially in semi-arid regions.