Ricardo Lourenço-de-Moraes

Alternative reproductive modes of Atlantic forest frogs

Diversity in reproductive modes is well known in amphibians, mainly among anurans, which are characterized by a diversity in breeding biology that exceeds that of any other tetrapod. Currently, 39 reproductive modes are recognized among anurans and some species display more than one mode. The breeding biology of some Brazilian Atlantic forest anurans was investigated for this study. We observed unreported reproductive modes for six species, variability in the reproductive modes of individuals of the same species (whereby some individuals of a given population displayed unusual reproductive modes when the physical conditions of the breeding site were suboptimal), and variations within the modes. These observations suggest possible evolutionary steps for the reproductive modes. Anuran breeding biology seems to be more diverse than previously reported, and a character matrix could be constructed to describe the total range of variation of the anuran reproductive modes.

A new diminutive frog species of Adelophryne (Amphibia: Anura: Eleutherodactylidae) from the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil

The genus Adelophryne is composed of diminutive frogs occurring in northern Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest. Herein we describe a new species of Adelophryne found in the leaf litter of primary and secondary forests in the mountainous region of Espírito Santo state, southeastern Brazil. The new species is characterized by its small body size, two phalanges in the finger IV, and a glandular ridge line that runs from the posterior part of eye to the insertion of the forelimb. This species is sensitive to edge effect and conversion of native forest into coffee and Eucalyptus plantations and may be listed as Endangered (EN) under B1ab(iii) criteria of the IUCN Red List.

Tadpole, Oophagy, Advertisement Call, and Geographic Distribution of Aparasphenodon arapapa Pimenta, Napoli and Haddad 2009 (Anura, Hylidae)

Abstract The genus Aparasphenodon is poorly known. Of the four species, the larvae of only one have been described, and the advertisement calls of all taxa remain unknown. Here, we describe the tadpole, adult coloration, and advertisement calls of Aparasphenodon arapapa. We also provide data that extend its known distribution 170 km to the south, from the type locality in Ituberá to Una, Bahia, Brazil. In addition, we report larval morphology related to bromeligenous habitat specialization of tadpole and metamorph oophagy for the first time in the genus. The advertisement call is composed of one multipulsed note with mean duration of 150 ms. Whether the observed oophagy is obligatory or opportunistic remains unclear, suggesting that further studies are warranted. Our observations provide insight into the behavioral and morphological diversity in the genus Aparasphenodon, and may guide future studies of this unique group of anurans.

Cost-effective conservation of amphibian ecology and evolution

A new conservation strategy incorporates functional, phylogenetic, and taxonomic diversity for improved cost-effective outcomes. Habitat loss is the most important threat to species survival, and the efficient selection of priority areas is fundamental for good systematic conservation planning. Using amphibians as a conservation target, we designed an innovative assessment strategy, showing that prioritization models focused on functional, phylogenetic, and taxonomic diversity can include cost-effectiveness–based assessments of land values. We report new key conservation sites within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest hot spot, revealing a congruence of ecological and evolutionary patterns. We suggest payment for ecosystem services through environmental set-asides on private land, establishing potential trade-offs for ecological and evolutionary processes. Our findings introduce additional effective area-based conservation parameters that set new priorities for biodiversity assessment in the Atlantic Forest, validating the usefulness of a novel approach to cost-effectiveness–based assessments of conservation value for other species-rich regions.

Nesting patterns among Neotropical species assemblages: can reserves in urban areas be failing to protect anurans?

Nestedness among species assemblages implies that sites of lower species richness are subsets of richer sites in a regional species pool. This nestedness is a reflection of a non-random process of species loss as a consequence of factors that promote the disaggregation of assemblages. The impoverishment of assemblage diversity is more often observed in fragmented landscapes. This non-random process has important implications for conservation. We recorded 95 species of anurans across 22 protected areas, of which 11 sites were in an urban matrix and 11 were in a non-urban matrix. We found that sites in the urban matrix had lower richness and high values of nestedness with no spatial autocorrelation among geographic distances and species composition. Thus, species were non-randomly distributed across the landscape and a nested pattern was documented from non-urban matrix sites to urban matrix sites. The impoverishment of assemblages toward the urban matrix sites may suggest that protected areas in an urban matrix are less suitable for anuran conservation than those in a non-urban matrix sites. Both the ecological revitalization of protected areas in urban matrix and protection of non-urban forested sites are needed for the conservation of Neotropical anurans.

Diversity of miniaturized frogs of the genus Adelophryne (Anura: Eleutherodactylidae): A new species from the Atlantic Forest of northeast Brazil

The number of species of frogs in the South American genus Adelophryne has increased in recent years, and it has become apparent that this group contains a substantial amount of undescribed diversity. Currently the genus contains nine described species and five candidate species. Here we describe the tenth species of the genus Adelophryne from the municipality of Igrapiúna, southern Bahia state, Brazil. The new species is characterized by its small body size, indistinct tympanum, and two phalanges in the finger IV. The species of the genus are distributed in three groups, Northern Amazonia Clade, Northern Atlantic Forest Clade and Southern Atlantic Forest Clade. The new species is phylogenetically related to species of the Northern Atlantic Forest Clade of Adelophryne and restricted to forested habitat, as typical for other Adelophryne. The species is restricted to the pristine forests in the type locality, and we consider its conservation status as Near Threatened. New morphological and molecular data of other Adelophryne species are presented, extending the distribution of Adelophryne sp. 2, Adelophryne sp. 4, Adelophryne mucronata and Adelophryne glandulata. However, a more comprehensive revision of the diversity and phylogenetic position of most Adelophryne species is needed, and the evolutionary relationships of A. meridionalis and A. pachydactyla remain unknown.

Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae, Rhinella boulengeri Chaparro, Pramuk, Gluesenkamp and Frost, 2007: Distribution extension, state of Bahia, Brazil

Our new records from two protected areas in the municipalities of Itacare and Urucuca, both in southern Bahia, Brazil, extend the known distribution area of Rhinella boulengeri 180 km south from the type locality (Salvador - Rio Cururipe) and 112 km northeast from the municipality of Arataca, state of Bahia.