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Foraging tactics of an ambush predator: the effects of substrate attributes on prey availability and predator feeding success

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Abstract

The foraging sites selected by an ambush forager can strongly affect its feeding opportunities. Foraging cane toads (Rhinella marina) typically select open areas, often under artificial lights that attract insects. We conducted experimental trials in the field, using rubber mats placed under lights, to explore the influence of substrate color and rugosity on prey availability (numbers, sizes, and types of insects) and toad foraging success. A mat's color (black vs. white) and rugosity (smooth vs. rough) did not influence the numbers, sizes, or kinds of insects that were attracted to it, but toads actively preferred to feed on rugose white mats (50% of prey-capture events, vs. a null of 25%). White backgrounds provided better visual contrast of the (mostly dark) insects, and manipulations of prey color in the laboratory showed that contrast was critical in toad foraging success. Insects landing on rugose backgrounds were slower to leave, again increasing capture opportunities for toads. Thus, cane toads actively select backgrounds that maximize prey-capture opportunities, a bias driven by the ways that substrate attributes influence ease of prey detection and capture rather than by absolute prey densities.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Australian Research Council, The National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT), Mexico, the Australian Government and the University of Sydney. All procedures were approved by the University of Sydney Animal Ethics Committee and the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Edna González-Bernal, Gregory P. Brown, Elisa Cabrera-Guzmán & Richard Shine

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  1. Edna González-Bernal
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  2. Gregory P. Brown
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  3. Elisa Cabrera-Guzmán
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  4. Richard Shine
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Correspondence to Richard Shine.

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Communicated by P. Bednekoff

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González-Bernal, E., Brown, G.P., Cabrera-Guzmán, E. et al. Foraging tactics of an ambush predator: the effects of substrate attributes on prey availability and predator feeding success. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 65, 1367–1375 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-011-1147-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-011-1147-9

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