Current knowledge on dietary studies of amphibians in Colombia: research gaps and trends

Trophic interactions are essential components of population and community structuring. Amphibians are primarily a generalist predator group and are essential in the energy transformation chain in different ecosystems globally. Many amphibian species lack any basic information about diet or prey consumption, which is essential for understanding ecological requirements, changes in the natural history of species and populations, the impact of habitat modification, and to develop conservation strategies. We present current knowledge on amphibian diets in Colombia—the second most diverse and endemic rich, and the most threatened nation for amphibians—to determine: (a) the number of species studied and their spread across families and genera; (b) the temporal and regional patterns in scientific productivity on trophic ecology, and (c) the trends of topics studied associated with trophic ecology in Colombian amphibians. We found 70 published studies on amphibian trophic ecology between years 1914 and 2022, spanning 100 amphibian species. The Andean region is the best represented, and the Amazon and Orinoco the least. The topics most frequently studied are the prey items consumed and ontogeny, followed by a predominance of systematic and taxonomy, and land-use change impacts. Forty-one prey items were consumed, with invertebrates being the best represented group. While the development of information on dietary ecology has recently increased, knowledge remains limited, with a significant information gap for many Colombian species in different regions. This synthesis is a starting point to identify research gaps for amphibian diet in Colombia, and ultimately for implementing conservation strategies in Colombian amphibians.