Rogério Pereira Bastos

Breeding Activity of the Neotropical Treefrog Hyla elegans (Anura, Hylidae)

Breeding of Hyla elegans was monitored from August 1991 to July 1992 at a temporary pond in Ubatuba, State of Sao Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Males began to call as they entered the chorus, and defended their calling sites from other males, at times with physical interactions. Females, however, were not aggressive toward either males or other females. We found a positive correlation between the numbers of females and males in the chorus, but no significant correlation between OSR (number of reproducing females/number of reproducing males) and the number of males present. OSR was highly male-biased; on average, there were 10 males for each female; this low OSR may explain low average mating success of males. Females chose males as mates freely, and males did not attempt to intercept females approaching other males. Males in amplexus were larger and heavier than unmated, calling males. In addition, snout- vent lengths of males and females in amplexus were positively correlated, and males were, on average, 0.81 the length of females. Experimentally paired males and females with smaller or larger ratios of SVLs had a lower percent of fertilization than pairs near the population average.

Vocalizations of the Brazilian torrent frog Hylodes heyeri (Anura: Hylodidae): Repertoire and influence of air temperature on advertisement call variation

In this study we analysed the acoustic activity of Hylodes heyeri in areas of Atlantic Forest, in southern Brazil. Observations were made in November 2001 and from January to April 2002, at Estação II Instituto Agronômico do Paraná, municipality of Morretes, State of Paraná. Males displayed three different vocalizations: advertisement calls, territorial calls, and courtship calls. Temporal and spectral parameters of advertisement and territorial calls were analysed, along with call intensity. The duration of the advertisement call showed a negative correlation with air temperature, with males decreasing the duration of advertisement calls at higher temperatures. Male body size was not correlated with any of the acoustic parameters. Details on habitat use, distances to nearest vocalizing neighbour, and daily calling activity are also included.

Vocalizações e interações acústicas em Hyla raniceps (Anura, Hylidae) durante a atividade reprodutiva

The vocalizations of H. raniceps (Cope, 1826) and their functions are described, including an analysis of the influence of temperature, weight, or SVL (snout-vent length) of males on the acoustic parameters. The vocalizations were recorded in three areas in Fazenda Lagoa Grande, Municipality of Pontalina, State of Goias, central Brazil. Males began their vocalizations just before sunset, extending them, in some cases, to dawn of the following day. The peak of activities happened between 21h and 23h. The height of calling sites varied plenty, being the position horizontal in about 50% of them. Males defended sites in different areas during consecutive nights. Rain and strong winds interrupted the calling activities. Males emitted three vocalizations: advertisement, territorial and distress calls. The advertisement call has pulsionated structures and it is the most common, being emitted in the presence/absence of females. Significant correlation was found between number of notes and air temperature, notes duration and both male weight and air temperature, calling rate and both male SVL or weight, and frequency and male weight.

Conservation biogeography of anurans in Brazilian Cerrado

The increasing rates of declines in anuran populations worldwide are creating demands for urgent strategies to maximize conservation efforts. This may be critical in regions for which few detailed data on diversity, abundance and distribution are available, such as in the Cerrado of Central Brazil. In this paper, we used a macroecological approach based on the extent of occurrence of 131 species of Anura (Amphibia) in the Cerrado region to design a regional network of potential areas that preserves all anuran species. The final network, obtained using a simulation annealing algorithm based on complementarity, has a total of 17 cells, widely distributed throughout the biome. Minimum costs solutions were obtained in respect to total human population size, soybean production and bovine density, because these are the factors associated with human occupation that historically are more likely to cause broad scale habitat losses. The macro-scale approach used here can provide overall guidelines for conservation and define the focus for more local and effective conservation efforts.

Atividade reprodutiva de Scinax rizibilis (Bokermann) (Anura, Hylidae) na Floresta Atlântica, sudeste do Brasil

The breeding activity of Scinax rizibilis (Bokermann, 1964) was observed in a temporary pond, in the municipality of Ribeirao Branco, in the Southern Sao Paulo State from February 1993 to January 1994 and November 1994 to February 1995. The reproductive season extended from September to February. Females were larger and heavier (after oviposition) than males. In the choras, the spatial distribution tended towards uniformity. The number of males and females in the chorus was positively correlated. However there was no correlation between the number of males and the estimation of the operational sex ratios. On average there were seven males for each female present in the chorus. The males were apparently selected by females.

Patterns in the organization of Cerrado pond biodiversity in Brazilian pasture landscapes

There is a worldwide concern on the loss of pond biodiversity in human dominated landscapes. Nevertheless, agricultural activities appear to increase pond number in the Brazilian Cerrado through damming streams for cattle raising. These man-made ponds may represent important landscape features, but their importance to regional biodiversity has not yet been studied. Here, we evaluated differences in alpha and beta diversity under a multi-taxonomic approach, as well as tested pond size as the main driver of local species richness. We also assessed the importance of environmental heterogeneity through the analysis of the regional species accumulation curves (SAC). The overall result suggests that species turnover was the major component of regional biodiversity for all groups. Major physical and chemical water conditions had no effects on algae, macrophytes, water bugs, and birds species richness. Pond size had a significant effect on Odonata and fish species richness, while water beetles and amphibians were influenced by trophic conditions. Results from regional SAC show variations among different taxonomic groups regarding landscape heterogeneity: only algae, fish, and birds do not reached to an asymptote and had higher z-values. Our results highlight the importance of ponds for biodiversity conservation in increasingly agricultural landscapes in central Brazil.

Distribuição temporal e diversidade de modos reprodutivos de anfíbios anuros no Parque Nacional das Emas e entorno, Estado de Goiás, Brasil

The communities of anuran amphibians, especially in tropical regions, are directly influenced by environmental conditions, whfich play an important role in structuring and regulating communities. This study aimed to determine the diversity of reproductive modes, season of vocalization and to test correlation among climatic variables and richness, abundance of adult frogs and tadpoles, and activity of vocalization of males in 12 water bodies located in and around the Emas National Park, southwestern state of Goias, Brazil. Sixteen samples were carried out between December 2005 and March 2008. A total of 25 species from five families were recorded: Bufonidae (one species), Hylidae (nine species), Leptodactylidae (eight species), Leiuperidae (six species) and Microhylidae (one species). Four patterns of reproductive activity were recognized among the species: continuous, intermediate, long and explosive. The richness of adult frogs, the abundance and activity of the calling males were positively related to air temperature, humidity and precipitation. The richness of tadpoles was positively related to precipitation and water temperature, but there was no relationship between the abundance of tadpoles with no descriptors of climate. Six reproductive modes were recorded, 56% of species had widespread aquatic reproductive modes (mode 1 and 4) and 44% deposit eggs in nests of foam (modes 11, 13, 30 and 32). The species recorded in this study showed a predominance of reproductive modes and general reproductive pattern typically associated with the warm and rainy period, as expected for tropical and seasonal regions. However, the temporal segregation between groups of species within the rainy season seems to facilitate the coexistence of generalist species typical of open and/or anthropogenic areas.

Conservation planning: a macroecological approach using the endemic terrestrial vertebrates of the Brazilian Cerrado

Increasing rates of habitat loss and human occupation are creating demands for optimum strategies that maximize conservation efforts, despite the lack of detailed data required for implementation. Broad scale biogeographical data may furnish initial guidelines for conservation planning in a hierarchical framework for establishing conservation priorities and helping guide future research programmes. This approach may be critical in regions for which few detailed data on diversity, abundance and distribution are available, such as in the Cerrado biome of central Brazil. We used a macroecological approach, based on the extent of occurrence of 127 species of terrestrial vertebrates endemic to the Cerrado, to design a regional network of potential areas that represent all species at least once. The final network has a total of 24 regions widely distributed throughout the biome. We also evaluated these regions in terms of their human occupation by adding a cost for each cell based on 23 variables expressing variation in agricultural, demographic and cattle-ranching patterns on the Cerrado. Our analyses showed that conservation efforts should be concentrated in the south and south-east of the biome. This macro- ecological approach can provide broad guidelines for conservation and define the focus for more local and realistic conservation efforts.

New species of Hylodes from the Atlantic forest of Brazil (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae)

Departamento de Zoologia Instituto de Biociencias Universidade Estadual Paulista, C. P. 199, 13506-900 Rio Claro, SaO Paulo

Predation on the toad Bufo crucifer during reproduction (Anura: Bufonidae)

Departamento de Zoologia Instituto de Biociencias Universidade Estadual Paulista, C.P. 199, 13506-900 Rio Claro, Sao Paulo