Same Diet, Different Strategies: Variability of Individual Feeding Habits across Three Populations of Ambrosi’s Cave Salamander (<i>Hydromantes ambrosii</i>)
Enrico Lunghi | Fabio Cianferoni | Filippo Ceccolini | Yahui Zhao | Raoul Manenti | Claudia Corti | Gentile Francesco Ficetola | Giorgio Mancinelli
European cave salamanders of the genus <i>Hydromantes</i> are a group of eight species endemic to Italy and south-eastern France. Knowledge on the trophic niche of European <i>Hydromantes</i> is poor, and the few available studies only partially investigate their feeding habits. We performed an in-depth study on the trophic niche of the Ambrosi’s cave salamander (<i>H. ambrosii</i>), assessing the potential divergences among three different populations. All the populations had a similar diet composition, showing a wider trophic niche in fall compared to spring. In only one population, “true specialists” were present; however, in all three populations, generalist individuals always represented the larger proportion. Interspecific and intraspecific competition did not play an important role in determining individual dietary specialisation in <i>H. ambrosii</i>; contrarily, the characteristics of the surrounding environment seemed to be an important factor. The best body conditions were observed in the population located in the site where the non-arboreal vegetation cover was the highest. Besides providing new information on the trophic niche of <i>H. ambrosii</i>, we here showed that studies encompassing both intrinsic and extrinsic factors at the population level are needed to fully understand the trophic dynamics occurring among European cave salamanders.
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