Search results for "Tadpole"

2019

Parents can influence offspring dispersal through breeding site selection, competition, or by directly moving their offspring during parental care. Many animals move their young, but the potential role of this behavior in dispersal has rarely been investigated. Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) are well known for shuttling their tadpoles from land to water, but the associated movements have rarely been quantified and the potential function of tadpole transport in dispersal has not been addressed. We used miniature radio-transmitters to track the movements of two poison frog species during tadpole transport, and surveyed pool availability in the study area. We found that parental male…

Visible implant elastomer (VIE) success in early larval stages of a tropical amphibian species

2020

AbstractAnimals are often difficult to distinguish at an individual level, but being able to identify individuals can be crucial in ecological or behavioral studies. In response to this challenge, biologists have developed a range of marking (tattoos, brands, toe-clips) and tagging (PIT, VIA, VIE) methods to identify individuals and cohorts. Animals with complex life cycles are notoriously hard to mark because of the distortion or loss of the tag across metamorphosis. In frogs, few studies have attempted larval tagging and none have been conducted on a tropical species. Here, we present the first successful account of VIE tagging in early larval stages (Gosner stage 25) of the dyeing poison…

From habitat use to social behavior: natural history of a voiceless poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius

2019

AbstractDescriptive studies of natural history have always been a source of knowledge on which experimental work and scientific progress rely. Poison frogs are a well-studied group of small Neotropical frogs with diverse parental behaviors, distinct calls, and bright colors that warn predators about their toxicity; and a showcase of advances in fundamental biology through natural history observations. The dyeing poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius, is emblematic of the Guianas region, widespread in the pet-trade, and increasingly popular in research. This species shows several unusual behaviors, such as the lack of advertisement calls and the aggregation around tree-fall gaps, which remain …

Pool choice in a vertical landscape: tadpole rearing site flexibility in phytotelm-breeding frogs

2021

AbstractMany species of Neotropical frogs have evolved to deposit their tadpoles in small water bodies inside plant structures called phytotelmata. These pools are small enough to exclude large predators but have limited nutrients and high desiccation risk. Here, we explore phytotelm use by three common Neotropical species: Osteocephalus oophagus, an arboreal frog that periodically feeds eggs to its tadpoles; Dendrobates tinctorius, a tadpole-transporting poison frog with cannibalistic tadpoles; and Allobates femoralis, a terrestrial tadpole-transporting poison frog with omnivorous tadpoles. We found that D. tinctorius occupies pools across the chemical and vertical gradient, whereas A. fem…

Poison frog social behaviour under global change: potential impacts and future challenges 

2022

AbstractThe current and cascading effects of global change challenges the interactions both between animal individuals (i.e. social and sexual behaviour) and the environment they inhabit. Amphibians are an ecologically diverse class with a wide range of social and sexual behaviours, making them a compelling model to understand the potential adaptations of animals faced with the effects of human-induced rapid environmental changes (HIREC). Poison frogs (Dendrobatoidea) are a particularly interesting system, as they display diverse social behaviours that are shaped by conspecific and environmental interactions, thus offering a tractable system to investigate how closely related species may re…

The stream-dwelling tadpole ofHyloscirtus charazani(Anura: Hylidae) from Andean Bolivia

2005

Abstract We describe the lotic larva of Hyloscirtus charazani from Charazani and nearby areas, Departamento La Paz, Bolivia (2700–3200 m a.s.l.). It is morphologically undistinguishable from tadpoles of H. armatus sensu lato. These tadpoles show stream adaptation through a robust body with strong tail musculature, enlarged oral disc, increased number of labial tooth rows, and complete marginal papillae. Furthermore, they have a large saccular structure that underlies the limb buds, encloses the vent tube, and partially covers the hindlimbs during their development. Resumen Describimos la larva lotica de Hyloscirtus charazani de Charazani y de otra localidad cercana, Departamento La Paz, Bol…

How far do tadpoles travel in the rainforest? : Parent-assisted dispersal in poison frogs

2019

Parents can influence offspring dispersal through breeding site selection, competition, or by directly moving their offspring during parental care. Many animals move their young, but the potential role of this behavior in dispersal has rarely been investigated. Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) are well known for shuttling their tadpoles from land to water, but the associated movements have rarely been quantified and the potential function of tadpole transport in dispersal has not been addressed. We used miniature radio-transmitters to track the movements of two poison frog species during tadpole transport, and surveyed pool availability in the study area. We found that parental male…

Tadpole of Atelopus franciscus from French Guyana, with Comments on Other Larvae of the Genus (Anura: Bufonidae)

2005

The tadpole of Atelopus franciscus from French Guyana is described. It resembles other larvae of the genus, especially those displaying a color pattern of symmetrical light marks. Among them, A. franciscus is most similar to those tadpoles having submarginal papillae (i.e., Atelopus balios, Atelopus flavescens, Atelopus nanay, Atelopus tricolor). The tadpole of A. franciscus shares several similarities with the larva of A. flavescens from French Guyana but differs from it by being smaller in size and in certain measurement. The phylogenetic relevance of tadpole characters in Atelopus is discussed, including body proportions, submarginal papillae, length of upper beak.

The Oral Cavities of Central European Anuran Larvae (Amphibia)

1982

AbstractWith few additions (structures here called prenarial lobes, prenarial arena pustulations, prevalar pustulations), WASSERSUG'S ( 1976) terminology is adequate to describe the oral structures of Central European anuran larvae. The oral cavities of Bombina and Alytes (Discoglossidoidei) are very similar in structure. Based on oral anatomy Pelabates fuscus appears to occupy an intermediate position within the Anura and a basal position among the Ranoidea, which are morphilogical very heterogeneous in oral characters. This assessment is consistent with the findings of other authors working on the anatomy of the tadpole head. Extensive morphological diversity can be found even within the …

Suspension feeding of anuran larvae at low concentrations of Chlorella algae (Amphibia, Anura).

1990

Ingestion and filtering rates in larval Xenopus laevis, Bufo calamita, Rana temporia and Bufo bufo fed suspensions of Chlorella fusca were investigated. Concentrations were measured with a Coulter Counter. (1) For all species, filtration occurred at concentrations far below those reported by other authors for Rana sylvatica feeding on Chlorella pyrenoidosa. For Bufo bufo, only larvae near metamorphosis showed ingestion at low particle concentrations. Since buccopharyngeal ventilation continues even in the absence of food particles, this threshold feeding behaviour in the younger larvae must be due to different mechanisms to those found in Daphnia and Calanus studied by other authors: probab…