ABSTRACT

Diet is one of the most important dimensions of the ecological niche. Pseudopaludicola genus comprises 25 species of which four have their diet studied. In this study, we quantify the diet of the recently described Pseudopaludicola restinga, which is found in sandy coastal environments of southeastern Brazil. We obtained a sample of 137 individuals from Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba from which 97 were used in analyses of diet composition. We registered 136 prey items distributed in 10 prey categories. Only arthropods were consumed. Insects were the most common food items. Hymenoptera was the most important item in terms of prey frequency, number, and index of relative importance. The variety of prey categories suggests that P. restinga is an opportunistic predator. In comparison with dietary information available for other four Pseudopaludicola species, P. restinga has intermediate values of the number of prey items, niche breadth, and importance index. This study is the first to document aspects of the natural history of P. restinga and to compare it with data available for congeners. Data brought here provide a better understanding of life history aspects of P. restinga. These information hence could guide development of effective conservation strategies for this poorly known species.

摘要

饮食是生态位最重要的维度之一。Pseudopaludicola属包括 25 种，其中四种已研究其饮食。在这项研究中，我们对最近描述的Pseudopaludicola restinga的饮食进行了量化，它发现于巴西东南部的沙质沿海环境中。我们从 Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba 获得了 137 人的样本，其中 97 人用于分析饮食成分。我们登记了 136 个猎物，分布在 10 个猎物类别中。只吃节肢动物。昆虫是最常见的食物。就猎物频率、数量和相对重要性指数而言，膜翅目是最重要的项目。猎物类别的多样性表明P. restinga是机会主义的捕食者。与其他四种Pseudopaludicola物种的可用饮食信息相比， P. restinga在猎物数量、生态位宽度和重要性指数方面具有中间值。这项研究首次记录了P. restinga的自然历史的各个方面，并将其与同类物种的可用数据进行了比较。这里提供的数据有助于更好地了解P. restinga的生活史方面。因此，这些信息可以指导为这种鲜为人知的物种制定有效的保护策略。