Amphibians: Supplement diets with carotenoids (including for colouration)

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

70%
Certainty

28%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

In captivity, amphibian diets are often dramatically simplified, and prey species are often those that can be bred cheaply and efficiently in captivity. By providing amphibians with prey that have been in reared on a substrate dusted with carotenoids, which may not naturally be present in the prey, nutritional deficiencies could be avoided. Carotenoids are found in the yolk of eggs and are thought to provide a range of benefits, including improving neonate health.

Study locations

Key messages

One study in the USA found that adding carotenoids to fruit flies fed to frogs reduced the number of clutches, but increased the number of tadpoles and successful metamorphs.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A replicated, before-and-after study in 2009-2012 in Louisiana, USA found that covering the rearing area (media) of prey fruit fly with carotenoid supplements increased the rate at which tadpoles successfully completed metamorphosis when fed to Strawberry poison frogs Oophaga pumilio compared to a diet of flies not supplemented with carotenoids. Pairs produced fewer clutches on the supplemented diet (average per pair: 8) compared to the unsupplemented diet (14), however, they produced more tadpoles (unsupplemented: 3; supplemented: 6) and more metamorphs (unsupplemented: 1; supplemented: 3). From August 2009 to January 2011 fruit flies were reared in conditions similar to commercially reared flies, from February 2011 to November 2012 the rearing media was augmented with carotenoid supplements Red phaffia yeast, powdered marine algae and Spirulina. The fruit flies were then fed to 50 male and 52 female poison frogs.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Dugas M.B., Yeager J. & Richards-Zawacki C.L. (2013) Carotenoid supplementation enhances reproductive success in captive strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio). Zoo Biology, 32, 655-658.

Please cite as:

Jonas, C.S., Timbrell, L.L., Young, F., Petrovan, S.O., Bowkett, A.E. & Smith, R.K. (2020) Management of Captive Animals. Pages 527-553 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

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This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Management of Captive Animals

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Category
Amphibians: Supplement diets with vitamins/ calcium applied to food (e.g. dusting prey) Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Amphibians: Supplement diets with vitamins/ calcium fed to prey (e.g. prey gut loading) Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Amphibians: Formulate adult diet to reflect nutritional composition of wild foods Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link