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Current Herpetology
Abstract
Abstract:
In the Brumas Plantation, Tawau, eastern Sabah of Borneo Island, I examined stomach contents of three frog species that are apparently segregating in microhabitat and morphology; Limnonectes cf. kuhlii is riparian, very stocky and always staying near streams or pools; Amnirana niobariensis, with slim body and long limbs, is terrestrial, inhabiting bushes near small pools, and Polypedates macrotis is arboreal, possessing large digital discs, and is found on trees or tall grasses. These three frog species exhibited food partitioning, differing in the amount and size of foods. Young L. cf. kuhlii always had stomach content mass (SCM) up to 3% of body mass (BM), and had the largest average number of small food items. In adult L. cf. kuhlii, few individuals lacked stomach contents, and foods were generally larger than in young frogs. Many A. nicobariensis had no stomach contents, and those with foods usually possessed SCM <2% of BM. Most food items were small in length. Polypedates macrotis tended to take large foods, but many had empty stomachs. Limnonectes cf. kuhlii and P. macrotis exhibited the mean food length smaller than their mouth width. When all frogs were combined, ants occupied the largest portion of all the food items, followed by crickets or grasshoppers, beetles, and spiders in that order.
I would like to express high admiration and appreciation for the Malaysian organizations concerned for their kind considerations in approving my research and for their assistance given to me during my research period. Special thanks are extended to Mr. K. M. Mastan of the Forest Department of Sabah, who kindly understood and supported the research. The research was carried out in collaboration with members of Entomological Section of the Forest Research Centre, Sepilok, Sandakan. I thank all of them for their kind cooperation. I cordially thank Messrs. P. K. Cassels, F. Liew, T. K. Chong and all other personnel of Sabah Softwoods Sdn. Bhd. for kind accommodation and valuable help in conducting survey at Brumas Plantation. Thanks are due to the late Prof. T. Hidaka for giving me an opportunity to conduct present research and to Prof. T. Hikida and Dr. K. Sakurai for warm companionship and help during the survey. I thank two anonymous reviewers for improving the earlier version of manuscript and T. Johnson for reviewing English text. Field trips were made possible by grants from the Monbusho to T. Hidaka (Field Research, 60041037).
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