@article {53497, title = {A new species of the genus Microhyla Tschudi, 1838 (Amphibia: Anura: Microhylidae) from Tay Nguyen Plateau, Central Vietnam}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4543}, year = {2019}, month = {Sep-01-2019}, pages = {549}, abstract = {

We describe a new species of Microhyla from Tram Lap forest, Gia Lai Province, Central Vietnam based on morpholog- ical, molecular, and acoustic data. The new species resembles M. butleri morphologically, but differs from all congeners by a combination of the following morphological attributes: (1) medium-sized adult snout\–vent length 25.2\–27.0 mm in 15 males and 30.5 mm in a single female; (2) body habitus moderately stocky; (3) head flat, snout rounded, slightly prom- inent in ventral profile; (4) dorsum and flanks slightly shagreened with evenly scattered tiny tubercles, ventral skin smooth; (5) first finger well developed, more than one-half the length of the second finger; (6) tips of three outer fingers slightly enlarged, forming weak disks and tips of all toes distinctly dilated into wide disks with narrow peripheral grooves; (7) finger and toe disks with dorsal median longitudinal grooves; (8) three palmar tubercles and two metatarsal tubercles; (9) tibiotarsal articulation of adpressed limb reaching slightly beyond the orbit; (10) webbing formula: I 13\⁄4\–2 II 11\⁄2\–23\⁄4 III 2\–31/3 IV 31\⁄4\–11\⁄2 V; (11) in life, chin and throat yellowish to bright-orange with tiny dark brown speckling laterally; and (12) a call consisting of 15\–26 pulses with a dominant frequency of 1.8\–2.2 kHz (recorded at 18.5oC). We also provide a preliminary genealogy of Microhyla based on analysis of a 2644 bp fragment of 12S\–16S rRNA mitochondrial DNA. Based on the examed data, the new species and M. butleri are sister-species (genetic p-distance: 9.0\%) and it can be dis- tinguished from M. butleri by its morphology (size, webbing on toes, color) and advertisement call. Interspecific genetic p-distances between the new species and its congeners vary from 9.0\% to 14.8\%. Microhyla aurantiventris sp. nov. occurs in evergreen montane tropical forests at elevations around 1200 m a.s.l. and is known only from the type locality. The new species appears to be threatened due to intensive logging and agriculture plantation.

}, keywords = {acoustics, amphibians, Gia Lai Province, Microhyla aurantiventris sp. nov., Microhylinae, mtDNA genealogy, Tram Lap For- est}, issn = {1175-5326}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4543.410.11646/zootaxa.4543.4.4}, url = {https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/issue/view/zootaxa.4543.4https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4543.4.4}, author = {NGUYEN, LUAN THANH and POYARKOV, NIKOLAY A. JR. and NGUYEN, TIEP TAN and NGUYEN, TAM AI and TRAN, VY HUU and GORIN, VLADISLAV A. and MURPHY, ROBERT W. and NGUYEN, SANG NGOC} } @article {53387, title = {Neotropical frogs and mating songs: The evolution of advertisement calls in glassfrogs}, journal = {Journal of Evolutionary Biology}, year = {2018}, month = {Mar-11-2020}, abstract = {

Anurans emit advertisement calls with the purpose of attracting mates and repelling conspecific competitors. The evolution of call traits is expected to be associated with the evolution of anatomical and behavioral traits due to the physics of call emission and transmission. Additionally, since vocalizing might imply a trade-off with investment in parental care, the evolution of calls is expected to trade-off with parental care. Here, we investigated the association between body size, calling site, parental care and call properties (call duration, number of notes, peak frequency, frequency bandwidth and call structure) of the advertisement calls of glassfrogs (Centrolenidae)\—a family of Neotropical, leaf-dwelling anurans\—using phylogenetic comparative methods. We also explored the tempo and mode of evolution of these traits and compared them with those of three morphological traits associated with body size, locomotion and feeding. We generated and compiled acoustic data for 72 glassfrog species (46\% of total species richness), including representatives of all genera. We found that almost all acoustic traits have significant, but generally modest, phylogenetic signal. Peak frequency of calls is significantly associated with body-size, while call structure is significantly associated with calling site and paternal care. Thus, the evolution of body size and calling site could constrain call evolution. The estimated disparity of acoustic traits was larger than that of morphological traits and the peak in disparity of acoustic traits generally occurred later in the evolution of glassfrogs, indicating a historically recent outset of the acoustic divergence in this clade.

}, keywords = {acoustic communication, amphibians, comparative method, Neotropics, phenotypic disparity}, doi = {10.1111/jeb.13406}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/jeb.13406}, author = {Escalona S, Mois{\'e}s D. and Ivo Sim{\~o}es, Pedro and Castroviejo-Fisher, Santiago} } @article {53123, title = {Male spacing and the influence of female courtship behaviour in the bladder cicada, Cystosoma saundersii Westwood}, journal = {Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology}, volume = {9}, year = {1981}, pages = {269{\textendash}276}, abstract = {

1. Experimental choruses of males of Cystosoma saundersii with manipulated densities -12 times that usually found in bushes of the same size were set up and compared with choruses with natural densities of males. Greater numbers of both males and females were attracted to the louder, denser choruses.

2. There were higher rates of dispersal away from and movements within the experimental choruses than those found at natural densities. This indicated some form of repulsion occurring between males in close proximity.

3. Playback experiments to calling males in the field showed that males would stop singing and move away in response to high intensities of a conspecific calling song. The intensities eliciting this reaction cor- responded to a conspecific male singing at separations of less than or equal to 0.5 m. Aggression between males or aggressive songs have not been observed.

4. Females fly in to the chorus and alight generally within 0.5 m of the male of their choice. They then produce a pheromone which they disperse by wing-flicking. The rate of wing-flicking was used as a quan- titative measure of the willingness of a female to mate.

5. Twice as many females were attracted to higher densities of males than to natural densities. However, in the experimental situation, the probability of an attracted female actually mating was half that occur- ring in natural densities. This appeared to be due to an inhibition of the female wing-flicking behaviour.

6. Playback experiments showed that females will respond by wing-flicking to a male only when his song is at least 9 dB louder than that of his nearest neighbour (when the sound pressure levels of the sources are measured separately at the position of the female). Using this figure as a threshold, volumes in which females would respond were calculated for males with a series of nearest-neighbour distances. At the average separation found between males sharing bushes in the field, the volume in which a female would respond covered most of the volume in which a female is likely to land. Thus, the discriminating capabilities of the female were shown to govern the minimum separation occurring between males.

}, keywords = {Aggregation, amphibians, animal vocalization, Cicadas, Insect behavior, Insect sounds, Loudspeakers, mating behavior, Singing, Sound pressure}, author = {Jane M. Doolan} } @article {53057, title = {Species Richness (of Insects) Drives the Use of Acoustic Space in the Tropics}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {9}, year = {2017}, month = {Jan-11-2017}, pages = {1096}, abstract = {

Acoustic ecology, or ecoacoustics, is a growing field that uses sound as a tool to evaluate animal communities. In this manuscript, we evaluate recordings from eight tropical forest sites that vary in species richness, from a relatively low diversity Caribbean forest to a megadiverse Amazonian forest, with the goal of understanding the relationship between acoustic space use (ASU) and species diversity across different taxonomic groups. For each site, we determined the acoustic morphospecies richness and composition of the biophony, and we used a global biodiversity dataset to estimate the regional richness of birds. Here, we demonstrate how detailed information on activity patterns of the acoustic community (\<22 kHz) can easily be visualized and ASU determined by aggregating recordings collected over relatively short periods (4\–13 days). We show a strong positive relationship between ASU and regional and acoustic morphospecies richness. Premontane forest sites had the highest ASU and the highest species richness, while dry forest and montane sites had lower ASU and lower species richness. Furthermore, we show that insect richness was the best predictor of variation in total ASU, and that insect richness was proportionally greater at high-diversity sites. In addition, insects used a broad range of frequencies, including high frequencies (\>8000 Hz), which contributed to greater ASU. This novel approach for analyzing the presence and acoustic activity of multiple taxonomic groups contributes to our understanding of ecological community dynamics and provides a useful tool for monitoring species in the context of restoration ecology, climate change and conservation biology.

}, keywords = {amphibians, ARBIMON, Biodiversity monitoring, birds, community ecology, insects, passive acoustic monitoring, rapid assessments, Soundscape, species richness}, doi = {10.3390/rs9111096}, url = {http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/11/1096}, author = {T. Mitchell Aide and Hern{\'a}ndez-Serna, Andres and Campos-Cerqueira, Marconi and Acevedo-Charry, Orlando and Jessica L. Deichmann} } @article {51471, title = {Species Richness (of Insects) Drives the Use of Acoustic Space in the Tropics}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {9}, year = {2017}, month = {Jan-11-2017}, pages = {1096}, abstract = {

Acoustic ecology, or ecoacoustics, is a growing field that uses sound as a tool to evaluate animal communities. In this manuscript, we evaluate recordings from eight tropical forest sites that vary in species richness, from a relatively low diversity Caribbean forest to a megadiverse Amazonian forest, with the goal of understanding the relationship between acoustic space use (ASU) and species diversity across different taxonomic groups. For each site, we determined the acoustic morphospecies richness and composition of the biophony, and we used a global biodiversity dataset to estimate the regional richness of birds. Here, we demonstrate how detailed information on activity patterns of the acoustic community (\<22 kHz) can easily be visualized and ASU determined by aggregating recordings collected over relatively short periods (4\–13 days). We show a strong positive relationship between ASU and regional and acoustic morphospecies richness. Premontane forest sites had the highest ASU and the highest species richness, while dry forest and montane sites had lower ASU and lower species richness. Furthermore, we show that insect richness was the best predictor of variation in total ASU, and that insect richness was proportionally greater at high-diversity sites. In addition, insects used a broad range of frequencies, including high frequencies (\>8000 Hz), which contributed to greater ASU. This novel approach for analyzing the presence and acoustic activity of multiple taxonomic groups contributes to our understanding of ecological community dynamics and provides a useful tool for monitoring species in the context of restoration ecology, climate change and conservation biology.

}, keywords = {amphibians, ARBIMON, Biodiversity monitoring, birds, community ecology, insects, passive acoustic monitoring, rapid assessments, soundscapes, species richness}, doi = {10.3390/rs9111096}, url = {http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/11/1096}, author = {T. Mitchell Aide and Hern{\'a}ndez-Serna, Andres and Campos-Cerqueira, Marconi and Acevedo-Charry, Orlando and Jessica L. Deichmann} } @article {50506, title = {Responses of male cricket frogs ( Acris crepitans) to attenuated and degraded advertisement calls}, journal = {Ethology}, volume = {123}, year = {2017}, month = {Jan-05-2017}, pages = {357 - 364}, abstract = {

We examined the vocal and non-vocal responses of male cricket frogs (Acris crepitans) to conspecific advertisement calls that had been attenuated or degraded by reducing the depth of amplitude modulation (AM). Both are characteristic of changes to the call as it is transmitted through natural habitats. As stimulus calls became more intense or less degraded, male cricket frogs gradually decreased their call rate and increased the number of call groups and pulse groups in their calls, changes indicative of increased aggressive interactions. At the higher intensities and lower degradation levels, the probability that males would shift to one of two non-vocal behavioral responses, attacking the perceived intruder or ceasing calling and abandoning the call site, gradually increased. The results show that differences in signal attenuation and AM degradation levels are perceived by males and trigger both vocal and non-vocal behavioral responses consistent with their use in evaluating the distance to a challenging male. Furthermore, the results indicate that the male responses are graded, increasing as intensity rises and degradation falls, and hierarchical, with vocal responses preceding behavioral responses over the range of intensities and degradation levels presented.

}, keywords = {acoustic communication, aggression, amphibians, cricket frogs}, doi = {10.1111/eth.2017.123.issue-510.1111/eth.12602}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/eth.2017.123.issue-5}, author = {Venator, Kurt R. and Michael J. Ryan and Wilczynski, Walter}, editor = {Koenig, W.} } @article {47964, title = {Description of four new species of Burrowing Frogs in the Fejervarya rufescens complex (Dicroglossidae) with notes on morphological affinities of Fejervarya species in the Western Ghats}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4277}, year = {2017}, month = {Aug-06-2018}, pages = {451}, abstract = {

The Rufescent Burrowing Frog, Fejervarya rufescens, is thought to have a wide distribution across the Western Ghats in Peninsular India. This locally abundant but secretive species has a short breeding period, making it a challenging subject for field studies. We sampled 16 populations of frogs morphologically similar to F. rufescens in order to understand the variation among populations found across the Western Ghats. Our study shows significant morphological and genetic differences among the sampled populations, suggesting that F. \‘rufescens\’ is a complex of several undescribed species. Using evidence from morphology and genetics, we confirm the presence of five distinct species in this group and formally describe four as new. The new species were delineated using a phylogeny based on three mitochondrial genes (16S, COI and Cytb) and a haplotype network of a nuclear gene (Rag1). Hereafter, the distribution of F. rufescens is restricted to the state of Karnataka and adjoining regions of northern Kerala. Three new species (Fejervarya kadar sp. nov., Fejervarya manoharani sp. nov. and Fejervarya neilcoxi sp. nov.) are from regions south of Palghat gap in the state of Kerala, and one (Fejervarya cepfi sp. nov.) from the northern Western Ghats state of Maharashtra. These findings indicate that Fejervarya frogs of the Western Ghats are more diverse than currently known. Our results will also have implications on the conservation status of F. rufescens, which was previously categorized as Least Concern based on its presumed wide geographical distribution. Furthermore, in order to facilitate a better taxonomic understanding of this region\’s fejervaryan frogs, we divide all the known Fejarvarya species of the Western Ghats into four major groups\—Fejervarya nilagirica group, Fejervarya rufescens group, Fejervarya sahyadris group and Fejervarya syhadrensis group, based on their morphological affinities.

}, keywords = {amphibians, bioacoustics, India, integrative taxonomy, molecular phylogeny, multi-gene DNA barcoding, new species, species diversity, Western Ghats}, issn = {1175-5326}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4277.410.11646/zootaxa.4277.4.1}, url = {https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/issue/view/zootaxa.4277.4https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4277.4.1}, author = {Sonali Garg and S. D. Biju} }