Abstract
ABSTRACT Presented is the first information on the ecological and reproductive aspects of the treefrog, Aparasphenodon brunoi Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920, living in ombrophilous forest areas of the Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil. We recorded the species’ daily activity and over the course of a year, population density during the year, microhabitat usage, diet, and some reproductive features (quantity, diameter and mean mass of oocytes, mean reproductive effort of female). Field sampling was conducted monthly from June 2015 to July 2016. Searches for treefrogs were systematic, using visual encounter surveys along 14 plots RAPELD long term research modules established in the forest. For each captured individual, we recorded the hour, microhabitat used, and perch height. The diet of the population was ascertained based on 15 individuals collected outside the study plot areas. Treefrogs used seven different types of microhabitats in the forest but the preferred microhabitats were tree-trunks and lianas. The amount of accumulated rainfall and air temperature interacted to explain the number of A. brunoi individuals active throughout the year. The reproductive strategy for females of this comparatively large arboreal frog in the ombrophilous forest is to produce clutches with a large number (900.8 ± 358.1) of relatively small-sized eggs. We conclude that in the ombrophious forest of the Vale Natural Reserve, A. brunoi is a nocturnal arboreal treefrog active throughout the year but activity increases during the wet season as a result of increased precipitation. In the forest, treefrogs tend to perch mainly on tree-trunks and lianas about 1 m above ground, where it feeds preferably on relatively large bodied arthropod prey. When living in the ombrophilous forest of the Atlantic rainforest, A. brunoi may change some features of its ecology (e.g. marked difference in the use of bromeliads) compared to when living in restinga habitats.
Highlights
The relatively low information available providing aspects on its ecology comes from areas of restinga habitats (Teixeira et al 2002, Mesquita et al 2004, Sluys et al 2004, Wogel et al 2006, Haddad et al 2013), with no information available on the ecology of the species found within ombrophilous forest environments of the Biome
We addressed the following questions: i) What is the daily activity of A. brunoi and what is their activity throughout the year? ii) Which are the preferred microhabitats used by A. brunoi in the forest? iii) What is the vertical range of A. brunoi when perching in their habitat? iv) What prey composes the treefrog’s diet and which prey items make up the majority of the diet? v) What is the overall morphometrics of A. brunoi oocytes? vi) What is the average female reproductive effort for A. brunoi?
We recorded a total of 77 individuals of A. brunoi, all of them by visual encounters, in the ombrophilous forest
Summary
Bruno’s casque-headed frog, Aparasphenodon brunoi Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920, is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest (Haddad et al 2013), occurring from the south of Bahia, southward to the state of São Paulo, along the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and can be found mostly in restinga habitats of this Biome (Carvalho 1939, Feio et al 1998, Argôlo 2000, Mollo Neto and Teixeira Jr 2012, Ruas et al 2013, Haddad et al 2013, Oliveira and Rocha 2014). Restinga is a typical environment of the Brazilian coast, which is characterized by sand dune formations (Rizzini 1997). This species has been considered as decreasing in population size (Rocha et al 2004), information regarding its ecology is still scarce. The relatively low information available providing aspects on its ecology comes from areas of restinga habitats (Teixeira et al 2002, Mesquita et al 2004, Sluys et al 2004, Wogel et al 2006, Haddad et al 2013), with no information available on the ecology of the species found within ombrophilous forest environments of the Biome.
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