Prey Availability, Consumption and Selection in the Cricket Frog, Acris crepitans (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae)

Mean prey size increased linearly and mean number of items per stomach apparently declined with increasing Acris crepitans size. Rank analysis comparing foods consumed to availability of ground and above ground invertebrates showed significant positive correlations, indicating that prey selection was not as important as prey availability. Acris crepitans fed on both ground (45.6% of prey, 20.7% of volume) and above ground (33.0% of prey, 38.7% of volume) invertebrate communities, but little from the aquatic community (3.2% of prey, 5.0% of volume). The remaining prey (18.1% of prey, 23.8% of volume) could not be reliably classified as to ground or above ground prey. Remaining volume comprised unidentified and non-prey items.