On the diet of recent metamorphs and adults of the Common Toad, Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758)

Abstract

The authors analyzed the taxonomic prey composition of Common Toads, Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758), from populations of Lake Biograd (Biogradsko jezero; young and adult specimens) and the Black Lake (Crno jezero; young specimens) in Montenegro, to compare the dietary practices of recent metamorphs and adults. The young were collected in june and july 2012, adults in May 2004. Compared to young metamorphs from the Black Lake and adults from Lake Biograd, the digestive tracts of juveniles from Lake Biograd contained on the average larger numbers of prey items and a more diversified diet in terms of species richness. insecta constituted the dominant prey in both age categories. in the juveniles of both sites, the numerically dominant prey taxa were formicidae, Chironomidae and Byrrhidae (Lake Biograd: 36.36 %, 12.6% and 11.9 %, respectively; Black Lake 41.86 %, 23.26 % and 11.6 %), whereas Carabidae (33.34 %) and formicidae (31 %) prevailed in the diet of adult males, and Carabidae (25.5 %) and Curculionidae (21.1 %) in that of adult females.