Observations of Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog Predation by a Native Frog, Snake, and Giant Water Bug in a Central California Intermittent Stream

Abstract

During the summers of 2015 and 2018, we observed predation on Foothill Yellow-legged Frogs (Rana boylii) by a giant water bug (Abedus indentatus), a California Red-legged Frog (Rana draytonii), and a Diablo Range Gartersnake (Thamnophis atratus zaxanthus) adjacent to 3 separate isolated pools along intermittent reaches of Coyote Creek, Santa Clara County, California, USA. To the best of our knowledge, our observations provide the first published record of California Red-legged Frog and giant water bug preying upon Foothill Yellow-legged Frogs. As pool habitat contracts over the course of the dry season, locally abundant Yellow-legged Frogs may be increasingly vulnerable to predation from a suite of aquatic and terrestrial predators.