Question

You are an ecologist mapping the anurans in a remote region. You are noting down your observations made in the field.

Observation 1: You find numerous tadpoles with small heads, small jaw muscles, small beaks and long coiled intestines. What type of diet can you predict for such tadpoles? *Concisely* motivate your answer.

Observation 2: In the same environment you discover an alternative type of tadpoles with large heads, large jaw muscles, a serrated sharp beak and short gut. What type of diet can you predict for such tadpoles? *Concisely* motivate your answer.

Answer 1

In this case, the diet will depends on the size of the intestine and anatomical structures. However, the diet of amphibians vary across their development. Most amphibians are carnivores but their larval stage is mostly herbivores. The long coiled intestine allows tadpoles to digest vegetal components. So, in observation 1 the diet is mostly plants. Across time the larvae will grow and its gut will be shortened, allow them to process animal components. However, there are some species of tadpoles that already posses a short gut which main diet is carnivorous. For example, salamanders and newts are carnivores during all of the stages of development (larval and adult). So, in observation 2, the the tadpoles are carnivorous.