Abstract
This chapter focuses on reproductive modes in amphibians and reptiles. The ancestral reproductive mode in amphibians is assumed to include external fertilization, oviparity, and no parental care. Within salamanders and frogs, some species have external fertilization and some have internal fertilization, although the latter is rare in frogs. Caecilians are the exception among living amphibians because all known species have internal fertilization. Oviparity occurs in nearly all salamanders and frogs and about one-half of caecilians. Parental care in caecilians and salamanders includes egg attendance. Parental care is more diverse in frogs, occurring in about 6% of known species. The three groups of amphibians are discussed individually because of major differences in their reproductive modes. The diversity of reproductive patterns, life histories, and reproductive modes of amphibians and reptiles offers nearly unlimited opportunities for testing ecological and evolutionary theory. The interaction between age-specific reproductive effort and its survival costs has produced an impressive diversity of life-history patterns in amphibians and reptiles. Amphibians and reptiles can reproduce within very short time periods, over extended time periods, or may even skip years among reproductive episodes.
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