Abstract Phyllodytes tuberculosus is a bromeligenous anuran species whose geographic distribution is restricted to areas of the Caatinga and to transition zones between Caatinga and Atlantic Forest in the central-south of the state of Bahia. Its existence in close relationship with bromeliads and its occurrence in dry and highly seasonal environments drove us to the supposition that species is opportunistic/generalist regard to diet. We collected the items present in the stomach of 43 P. tuberculosus individuals with stomach-flushing method. Of these, 18 stomach contents were obtained during the dry period (April–October), and 25 during the rainy period (November–March). We recorded nine classes of prey, finding the greatest relative importance for the categories Formicidae and Coleoptera in dry season and Blattodea (Termites), Formicidae and Coleoptera in the rainy season. Phyllodytes tuberculosus presented a varied, possibly opportunistic diet in semiarid environments. Additionally, we report an apparent temporal differentiation related to the typical Caatinga seasonality. This study adds to the data on the natural history of an anuran species adapted to a semiarid environment with a narrow geographic distribution.

Abstract Phyllodytes tuberculosus is a bromeligenous anuran species whose geographic distribution is restricted to areas of the Caatinga and to transition zones between Caatinga and Atlantic Forest in the central-south of the state of Bahia. Its existence in close relationship with bromeliads and its occurrence in dry and highly seasonal environments drove us to the supposition that species is opportunistic/generalist regard to diet. We collected the items present in the stomach of 43 P. tuberculosus individuals with stomach-flushing method. Of these, 18 stomach contents were obtained during the dry period (April–October), and 25 during the rainy period (November–March). We recorded nine classes of prey, finding the greatest relative importance for the categories Formicidae and Coleoptera in dry season and Blattodea (Termites), Formicidae and Coleoptera in the rainy season. Phyllodytes tuberculosus presented a varied, possibly opportunistic diet in semiarid environments. Additionally, we report an apparent temporal differentiation related to the typical Caatinga seasonality. This study adds to the data on the natural history of an anuran species adapted to a semiarid environment with a narrow geographic distribution.

ABSTRACT We evaluated how seasonality affects the frequency and intensity of fin-nipping, as well as the fish prey preferences of Serrasalmus maculatus Kner, 1858. The study took place in a small reservoir of the Ribeirão Claro River basin, state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Fish were sampled monthly from July 2003 to June 2004, using gillnets. Sampling consisted of leaving 50 m of gillnets in the water for approximately 24 hours each month. No seasonal variation in the frequency and intensity of fin-nipping was observed. Among six prey species, piranhas displayed less damage in their fins, possibly due to intraspecific recognition. Under natural conditions, the caudal fins of Cyphocharax modestus (Fernández-Yépez, 1948) were the most intensively mutilated, which suggests multiple attacks on the same individual. The size of individuals in this species was positively correlated with the mutilated area of the fin, whereas no such correlation was observed for Astyanax altiparanae Garutti & Britski, 2000 and Acestrorhynchus lacustris (Lütken, 1875). The high number of mutilated fish under natural conditions strongly suggests that the relationship between S. maculatus and its prey is more akin to parasitism than to predation. If mutilated fins negatively affect the ability of prey to swim, the spread of S. maculatus might result in an unnatural impact on prey fish assemblages and population structure after damming.

ABSTRACT We evaluated how seasonality affects the frequency and intensity of fin-nipping, as well as the fish prey preferences of Serrasalmus maculatus Kner, 1858. The study took place in a small reservoir of the Ribeirão Claro River basin, state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Fish were sampled monthly from July 2003 to June 2004, using gillnets. Sampling consisted of leaving 50 m of gillnets in the water for approximately 24 hours each month. No seasonal variation in the frequency and intensity of fin-nipping was observed. Among six prey species, piranhas displayed less damage in their fins, possibly due to intraspecific recognition. Under natural conditions, the caudal fins of Cyphocharax modestus (Fernández-Yépez, 1948) were the most intensively mutilated, which suggests multiple attacks on the same individual. The size of individuals in this species was positively correlated with the mutilated area of the fin, whereas no such correlation was observed for Astyanax altiparanae Garutti & Britski, 2000 and Acestrorhynchus lacustris (Lütken, 1875). The high number of mutilated fish under natural conditions strongly suggests that the relationship between S. maculatus and its prey is more akin to parasitism than to predation. If mutilated fins negatively affect the ability of prey to swim, the spread of S. maculatus might result in an unnatural impact on prey fish assemblages and population structure after damming.

This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Lourenço, Ana Carolina C., Zina, Juliana, Catroli, Gaucilene F., Kasahara, Sanae, Faivovich, Julian, Haddad, Célio F. B. (2016): A new species of the Scinax catharinae group (Anura: Hylidae) from southeastern Brazil. Zootaxa 4154 (4): 415-435, DOI: http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4154.4.3