I. MOLLOV1, P. BOYADZHIEV2 and A. DONEV2
1 University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”, Faculty of Biology, Department of Ecology and Environmental Conservation,BG-4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2 University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”, Faculty of Biology, Department of Zoology, BG-4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
MOLLOV, I., P. BOYADZHIEV and A. DONEV, 2010. Trophic role of the Marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) (Amphibia, Anura) in the aquatic ecosystems. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 16: 298-306
During our study we identified 1356 prey items, divided in 64 prey categories in the trophic spectrum of Pelophylax ridibundus from the surrounding of Skutare Village (Plovdiv District, South Bulgaria). The average number of prey items per stomach for all studied seasons is as follows: spring 1994 - 11.93 (SD=18.31); autumn 1994 - 9.65 (SD=13.44); spring 1995 - 11.84 (SD=16.34) and totally – 11.49 (SD=38.67). The most important prey category for the whole period of study is Coleoptera (31.93%), followed by Diptera (27.65%) and Hymenoptera (13.42%). A presence of vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles and mammals) in the trophic spectrum was also recorded. The amphibians are presented with tadpoles (0.59 %) and adult specimens of Pelophylax ridibundus (0.36%). The reptiles with two subadult specimens (0.15%) of the Balkan Wall lizard (Podarcis tauricus) and the mammals with one (0.07%) Mus sp., which evidently were accidental captured in the water. The trophic niche breadths for spring seasons are quite high - spring 1994 (15.04) and spring 1995 (19.52), but for the autumn of 1994 it was 3.14. The trophic niche breadth for the whole period of study is 15.15. The trophic role of the Marsh frog in the aquatic ecosystems in Bulgaria is discussed.