Herpetology Notes, volume 13: 965-967 (2020) (published online on 26 November 2020)

Predation on the paradoxical frog Pseudis paradoxa (Anura, Hylidae, Pseudinae) by the great egret Ardea alba (Aves, Pelecaniformes, Ardeidae)

Aline Emanuele Oliveira-Souza1,*, Girlan Dias-Silva2, and Carlos Eduardo Costa-Campos1

Anurans represent an important food source for a Fieldwork was conducted at the Ecological Station of wide range of invertebrates (Toledo, 2005; Toledo Maracá-Jipioca (ESEC), located in the coast of Amapá et al., 2007) and vertebrates, including birds (Poulin State, eastern Amazon, Brazil. The ESEC comprises et al., 2001; Toledo et al., 2004; Lopes et al., 2005). the Maracá and Jipioca islands; Maracá is divided Because they tend to occur in association with aquatic into North and South islands, which are separated by a environments, anurans are more vulnerable to aquatic channel called Igarapé do Inferno. The terrain is flat and predators (Toledo, 2003). In a review of records of composed by floodplains, mangroves, bamboo forest and vertebrate predators of anurans, Aves was the third most small areas of terra firme forest (França et al., 2018). On representative group, comprising approximately 20% of 11 October 2017 at 07:56 h, a camera-trapping, installed published reports (Toledo et al., 2007). Herein we report for the monitoring of jaguars, recorded an individual of on a predation event on an individual of the paradoxical A. alba preying upon an individual of P. paradoxa on frog Pseudis paradoxa (Linnaeus, 1758) by the great the margin of a pond in Bibi Lake (GPS coordinates egret Ardea alba (Linnaeus, 1758), in a coastal island = 2.1448°N; 50.5248°W), located at Maracá North of northern Brazil. island. The bird struggled with the frog in its beak for Pseudis paradoxa is characterised by its medium body approximately one minute (Fig. 1). Four minutes later, size (snout-vent length = 45 to 75 mm), and occurs in the great egret handled the frog by the head before it lakes and temporary and permanent ponds in the Paraná was completely swallowed. During the predation event, and Amazon river basins (Garda et al., 2010). Males the frog emitted a distress call (0:09 to 0:20 from the call floating on the surface of the water, hidden amongst video below), which has been reported as a defensive emergent vegetation (Bosch et al., 1996). Ardea alba strategy in this species (Bosch et al., 1996; Toledo and is a large-sized (90–102 cm) cosmopolitan species of Haddad, 2009). According to previous surveys, Pseudis family Ardeidae found in tropical or warm temperate paradoxa is the only species of the genus recorded climates, associated with flooded habitats such as lakes, in lakes and temporary ponds of Maracá and Jipioca mangroves, rivers and várzeas (Sick, 1997). Its diet islands. The camera trap (Bushnell TrophyCam HD) is mainly carnivorous, actively preying mostly upon was directed west to east, and approximately 40 cm invertebrates and small vertebrates like fishes (Lorenzón above the ground, attached to tree trunks of Rhizophora et al., 2013). mangle L. The video recording was deposited at https:// doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12510467.v1. There are previous reports of Pseudinae frog predation by birds. The Pseudinae species with a higher number of predation events reported by birds was Pseudis platensis, which was preyed upon by Guira guira (Landgref Filho et al., 2011), Butorides striatus (Smith 1 Universidade Federal do Amapá, Departamento de Ciências and Atkinson, 2017), Megaceryle torquata (Landgref Biológicas e da Saúde, Laboratório de Herpetologia, 68903- 419, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil. Filho et al., 2019), Theristicus caudatus (Landgref Filho 2 Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, et al., 2019), and Phaetusa simplex (Landgref Filho et 68900-067, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil. al., 2019). Other reports of predation by birds occurred * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] in our focal species Pseudis paradoxa by Mycteria 966 Aline Emanuele Oliveira-Souza et al.

Figure 1. A sequence of a predation behaviour of the great egret Ardea alba upon the paradoxical frog Pseudis paradoxa in the Ecological Station Maracá-Jipioca, Amapá State, Brazil. A link for the video file is available in the text.

americana (González, 1997), Tigrisoma lineatum A. alba can be considered opportunistic, i.e., when the (Prado, 2003), and an undetermined heron (Downie predator has a generalist diet and eventually feed on et al., 2009), and in Pseudis tocantins by Ardea cocoi anurans. (Landgref Filho et al., 2019). Despite relatively few records of bird predation upon Acknowledgments. We are grateful to Edson V. Lopes (UFOPA) P. paradoxa, we believe they may be more common. for critically reviewing the manuscript. We would like to thank Paradoxical frogs are both diurnal and nocturnal, which Iranildo Coutinho (ICMBio) for allowing our observations within Maracá-Jipioca as well as all logistical support provided. We warrants exposure to visually oriented predators during thank Pedro França for helping us with the bird identification. All daytime, and movement-sensitive predators at night authors thank HerpetoLab staff and the forest fire crew members (Garda et al., 2007). The abundance of P. paradoxa for their support during fieldwork. in the study area is high, so our record of predation by Predation on the paradoxical frog by the great egret 967

References Poulin, B., Lefebvre, G., Ibáñez, R., Jaramillo, C., Hernández, C., Rand, A.S. (2001): Avian predation upon lizards and frogs in a Bosch, J., De la Riva, I., Márquez, R. (1996): The calling behavior neotropical forest understory. Journal of Tropical Ecology 17: of Lysapsus limellus and Pseudis paradoxa (Amphibia:Anura: 21–40. Pseudidae). Folia Zoologica 45: 49–55. Prado, C.P.A. (2003): Leptodactylus chaquensis (NCN), Pseudis Downie, J.R., Ramnarine, I., Sams, K., Walsh, P.T. (2009): The paradoxa (Paradox Frog), and Phrynohyas venulosa (Veined paradoxical frog Pseudis paradoxa: larval habitat, growth and Treefrog). Predation. Herpetological Review 34: 231–232. metamorphosis. Herpetological Journal 19: 11–19. Sick, H. (1997): Ornitologia brasileira. Rio de Janeiro, Nova França, P.F., Corrêa, J.G., Costa-Campos, C.E. (2018): Birds fronteira. of Estação Ecológica Maracá-Jipioca. Available at: https:// Smith, P., Atkinson, K. (2017): Observations of two predation fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/pt-br/guias/guia/1055. Accessed events involving herps and birds. Herpetology Notes 10: 635– on 10 March 2020. 637. Garda, A.A., Costa, G.C., França, F.G.R., Mesquita, D.O. (2007): Toledo, L.F. (2003): Predation on seven South American anuran Ecology of Lysapsus limellum in the Brazilian Amazon river species by water bugs (Belostomatidae). Phyllomedusa 2: 105– basin. Herpetological Journal 17: 141–148. 108. Garda, A.A., Santana, D.J., São-Pedro, V.A. (2010): Taxonomic Toledo, L.F. (2005): Predation of juvenile and adult anurans characterization of Paradoxical frogs (Anura, Hylidae, Pseudae): by invertebrates: current knowledge and perspectives. geographic distribution, external morphology, and morphometry. Herpetological Review 36: 395–400. Zootaxa 2666: 1–28. Toledo, L.F., Woehl, Jr.G., Woehl, E.N., Prado C.P.A. (2004): Scinax González, J.A. (1997): Seasonal variation in the foraging ecology nasicus, Hyla albomarginata, Hyla bischoffi and Phyllomedusa of the Wood Stork in the southern Llanos of Venezuela. The distincta (Tree frogs): Avian predation. Herpetological Bulletin Condor 99: 671–680. 92: 31–32. Landgref Filho, P., Aoki, C., de Sousa, D.L.H., de Souza, E.O., Toledo, L.F., Ribeiro, R.S., Haddad, C.F.B. (2007): Anurans as Brandão, R.A., Ávila, R.W., Oda, F.H. (2019): Escape or be prey: an exploratory analysis and size relationships between preyed: new records and current knowledge on predators of predators and their prey. Journal of Zoology 271: 170–177. Pseudinae frogs (Anura: Hylidae) in South America. Acta Toledo, L.F., Haddad, C.F.B. (2009): Defensive vocalizations of Biológica Colombina 24: 397–402. Neotropical anurans. South American Journal of Herpetology Landgref Filho, P., Aoki, C., Godoi, M.N. (2011): Pseudis platensis 4: 25–42. (Paradox Frog). Predation. Herpetological Review 42: 90. Lopes, L.E., Fernandes, A.M., Marini, M.A. (2005): Predation on vertebrates by Neotropical passerine birds. Lundiana 6: 57–66. Lorenzón, R.E., Virgolini, A.L.R., Beltzer, A.H. (2013): Ecología trófica de la Garza blanca Ardea alba (Pelecaniformes: Ardeidae) en un humedal del río Paraná, Argentina. Cuadernos de Investigación UNED 5: 121–127

Accepted by Renato Nali