Abstract
The reproductive cycle in anurans may be either continuous or discontinuous. These differences may be connected to seasonal climate changes and/or to anthropic activity. Forty adult male individuals of the Dendropsophus minutus species were collected during one year, in the municipality of Chapada dos Guimarães (Mato Grosso, Brazil). The testicles were studied under light and transmission electron microscopy. No variations were observed when the diameter of the seminiferous tubules and the thickness of the interstitial tissue were studied. However, changes in spermatogenesis were conspicuous and indicated that the reproductive cycle of D. minutus in Chapada dos Guimarães is discontinuous and seems related to variations in air temperature and rainfall.
Highlights
Breeding activity of most anurans is associated with the rainy season both in the temperate zone (Wiest, 1972; Salvador and Carrascal, 1990) and the tropics (Heyer, 1973; Barbault and Rodrigues, 1978; Hoogmoed and Gorzula, 1979; Toft and Duellman, 1979; Aichinger, 1987; Gascon, 1991; Duellman, 1995)
Secondary spermatogonia are smaller cells organized in cysts of a dark appearance
Notwithstanding, males of some anuran species of the temperate zone enter a sexually quiescent period after the reproductive period, and spermatogenesis is interrupted for some months (Lofts et al, 1972)
Summary
Breeding activity of most anurans is associated with the rainy season both in the temperate zone (Wiest, 1972; Salvador and Carrascal, 1990) and the tropics (Heyer, 1973; Barbault and Rodrigues, 1978; Hoogmoed and Gorzula, 1979; Toft and Duellman, 1979; Aichinger, 1987; Gascon, 1991; Duellman, 1995). In Mato Grosso, where the most elevated areas are formed by plateaus, the altitude associated with ventilation constitutes the geographical factor that most influences the variations in temperature and rainfall (Maitelli, 2005). Chapada dos Guimarães is located in the center-south of the state of Mato Grosso and is a watershed between the Platina and Amazon basins (Maitelli, 2005). During the year there are two notably different seasons, with regard to pluviometric precipitations: the rainy season (spring and summer) and the dry season (autumn and winter). This seasonal variation may be characterized by six rainy months and six hot months, with oscillations between extreme heat and dry cold (Fig. 3)
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