Environmental and phylogenetic aspects affect in different ways the acoustic niche of a frog community in southeastern Brazil.

Maria Carolina Rodella Manzano ,Ricardo J Sawaya

doi:10.1590/0001-3765202220200705

Maria Carolina Rodella Manzano , Ricardo J Sawaya

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202220200705

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Abstract

One of the most important resources for reproduction in frogs is the acoustic space since the advertisement call, which is mostly used to attract females, may suffer interference when the acoustic space is widely filled. Other important resources are calling sites and adequate climatic conditions. We analyzed herein three dimensions of the acoustic niche of anurans (advertisement calls, calling period, and calling sites). We recorded 11 calling species of frogs in a tropical community. Species richness was negatively related to temperature, and daily activity was positively related to humidity. We also observed a greater niche overlap than expected by chance in calling periods. These results indicate that the climatic conditions should act as an environmental filter, synchronizing the calling period. The calling site was not shared among species, and no clear pattern of substrate use was observed. Regarding the acoustic dimension, we observe a phylogenetic signal in the dominant frequency of advertisement calls. Hierarchical cluster analysis also indicated a congruence between acoustic distances and phylogenetic relationships. Therefore, the dominant frequency of advertisement calls was constrained by phylogenetic relationships, indicating that it affects the partitioning and use of acoustic resources, an important dimension in reproductive activity in anurans.

Highlights

The Neotropical region has the largest diversity of reproductive modes of anuran amphibians (Haddad & Prado 2005, Crump 2015)
More than 30 anuran reproductive modes have been described in the last decades in this region (Haddad & Prado 2005, Crump 2015), of which for the family Hylidae only in the Atlantic Forest, from modes known for this clade (Haddad & Sawaya 2000)
We carried out the study in a natural and permanent pond in the Reserva Biológica Municipal da Serra do Japi (RBMSJ) located in Jundiaí municipality, São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil (23°14’42.6”S, 46°56’12.4”W; datum = WGS84), an area of remnants of Atlantic Forest, totaling 2071.2 hectares

Summary

Introduction

The Neotropical region has the largest diversity of reproductive modes of anuran amphibians (Haddad & Prado 2005, Crump 2015). Frogs can aggregate to form choruses of calling males, mostly during the rainy and warm seasons (Wells 1977, Prado et al 2005) In this case, the acoustic space can become a limited resource since calling males need to deal with competitive pressure while receivers need to decipher messages in a noisy environment (Grafe 2005). The acoustic space can become a limited resource since calling males need to deal with competitive pressure while receivers need to decipher messages in a noisy environment (Grafe 2005) For this group, advertisement calls are an important feature for reproduction, being considered a relevant mechanism of reproductive isolation and sexual selection since it is used for species identification, sexual receptivity and even transmitting information about the calling male (Wells 1977, 2007, Haddad et al 1990)

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