Acoustic communication and vocalization microhabitat in Ameerega braccata (Steindachner, 1864) (Anura, Dendrobatidae) from Midwestern Brazil

Lr Forti,C Strüssmann,T Mott

doi:10.1590/s1519-69842010000100029

Lr Forti, C Strüssmann + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1519-69842010000100029

Copy DOI

Abstract

Ameerega braccata is an aposematic, small dendrobatid anuran known from its type-locality, Chapada dos Guimarães, in the State of Mato Grosso, and from a few additional localities in Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás States, Brazil. The advertisement call of A. braccata is composed of a single unpulsed note, with a frequency range from 3.5 to 4.2 KHz (N = 110), and average duration of 65.8 ms (N = 110, SD = 11.6). The territorial call is composed of five or six repeated notes, structurally similar to advertisement call notes. The courtship call is emitted in close-range interactions between male-female during the courtship event and may reach frequencies of 2.2 to 5.3 KHz (N = 10), with shorter notes (average duration 43 ms; N = 10; SD = 4.9). Call duration, note duration and call rate of the advertisement call showed high variation (>15% of coefficient of variation), and dominant frequency showed low variation (<4%). The properties with higher variation possibly respond to climatic features and male social position. When producing advertisement calls, males were usually found at an average height of 31.4 cm (N = 19, SD = 12.2 cm), mainly on leaves of shrubs and herbaceous plants (59%). Individuals of A. braccata were found in open physiognomies in the Cerrado ('campo sujo' and 'cerrado stricto sensu'), as opposed to that found by previous researchers, who reported an association of the species with gallery forests in the Cerrado.

Highlights

The production of sound in animals is generally used to advertise conspecifics (Duellman and Trueb, 1994; Lingnau and Bastos, 2003)
Acoustic communication plays an essential role in reproductive biology
We describe the physical structure of three kinds of calls and vocalization microhabitat of individuals from a topotypical population of Ameerega braccata (Steindachner, 1864). This species belongs to the Dendrobatidae family, placed in the Ameerega picta (Bibron in Tschudi, 1838) group and is recorded for Cerrado habitats in Mato Grosso State, midwestern Brazil, and probably occurs in Bolivia and Paraguay (Frost, 2007)

Summary

Introduction

The production of sound in animals is generally used to advertise conspecifics (Duellman and Trueb, 1994; Lingnau and Bastos, 2003). Because vocalization tends to be species-specific, it plays an essential role in pre-zigotic reproductive isolation by reducing the chances of interspecific mating (Abrunhosa et al, 2001). It is a remarkable and important tool for species identification (Guimarães and Bastos, 2003; Pombal-Júnior et al, 1995). We describe the physical structure of three kinds of calls (advertisement, territorial, and courtship calls) and vocalization microhabitat of individuals from a topotypical population of Ameerega braccata (Steindachner, 1864) This species belongs to the Dendrobatidae family, placed in the Ameerega picta (Bibron in Tschudi, 1838) group and is recorded for Cerrado habitats in Mato Grosso State, midwestern Brazil, and probably occurs in Bolivia and Paraguay (Frost, 2007). Data of natural history of A. braccata are scarce and acoustic parameters have not been described yet (Haddad and Martins, 1994; IUCN, 2006)

Materials and Methods

Vocalizations

Habitat

Discussion