Ecological aspects of the pumpkin toadlet, Brachycephalus garbeanus Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 (Anura: Neobatrachia: Brachycephalidae), in a highland forest of southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Brachycephalus garbeanus is an aposematic toadlet, endemic to the Atlantic Forest in the mountains of the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. Information regarding the ecology of species in this genus is scarce, with no information on most species, including B. garbeanus. We provide ecological information about B. garbeanus, in particular regarding microhabitat use, sexual dimorphism in body size, and feeding habits. Our study was conducted in a montane area of the Parque Estadual dos Três Picos, the largest State park in Rio de Janeiro. Most of the B. garbeanus in the study area were found on the forest floor leaf litter. Females were larger on average than males. Brachycephalus garbeanus consumed a wide array of prey, comprising exclusively invertebrates and predominantly arthropods. There were seasonal differences in the diet composition, but mites and ants were important in both wet and dry seasons.

Keywords:

• diet
• habitat use
• myrmecophagy
• seasonal differences
• sexual dimorphism

Acknowledgements

We thank the Instituto Estadual do Ambiente (INEA) for permission to work at the Parque Estadual dos Três Picos (PETP). We thank Adriano Luz of PETP for local support. C.F.D. Rocha received resources from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq (Processes 304791/2010-5 and 470265/2010-8) and from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro – FAPERJ (Process No. E-26/102.404/2009) through the programme “Cientistas do Nosso Estado”. This project also benefited from funding from the “Edital Espécies Ameaçadas” of Fundação Biodiversitas/CEPAN and RAN/ICMBio (Project No. 0158A/012006). During this study T.A. Dorigo and T. Maia-Carneiro received MSc fellowships from FAPERJ and CNPq respectively, and C.C. Siqueira received a PhD fellowship from the CNPq. We also thank J.P. Pombal Jr. for helping us with the identification of the species.