Morphological abnormalities in a population of Pleurodeles waltl (Caudata: Salamandridae) from southwestern Spain

Prevalence of morphological abnormalities usually is less than 5% in most amphibian populations (Ouellet et al. 1997, Vandenlangenberg et al. 2003, Mester et al. 2015). Morphology is closely related to whole-organism performance in amphibians (Zamora-Camacho 2018, Zamora- Camacho and Aragón 2019a), and thus, is under strong selection (Watkins 1996). Therefore, this low frequency likely reflects the negative effects of abnormalities on whole-organism performance (Zamora-Camacho and Aragón 2019b). However, amphibian populations are experiencing an alarming increase in morphological abnormality rates worldwide (Lanoo 2008, Johnson and Bowerman 2010, Laurentino et al. 2016). Amongst these, the most common are limb malformations, such as misshapen or fused limbs, and missing, or presence of extra limbs and toes (Harris et al. 2008, Johnson and Bowerman 2010, Reeves et al. 2013).The author was partially supported by a Juan de la Cierva-Formación postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad

The relationships between toad behaviour, antipredator defences, and spatial and sexual variation in predation pressure

Background: Animal behaviour is under strong selection. Selection on behaviour, however, might not act in isolation from other fitness-related traits. Since predators represent outstanding selective forces, animal behaviour could covary with antipredator defences, such that individuals better suited against predators could afford facing the costs of riskier behaviours. Moreover, not all individuals undergo equivalent degrees of predation pressure, which can vary across sexes or habitats. Individuals under lower predation pressure might also exhibit riskier behaviours. Methods: In this work, I tested these hypotheses on natterjack toads (Epidalea calamita). Specifically, I gauged activity time, exploratory behaviour and boldness in standard laboratory conditions, and assessed whether they correlated with body size and antipredator strategies, namely sprint speed, parotoid gland area and parotoid gland colour contrast. Additionally, I compared these traits between sexes and individuals from an agrosystem and pine grove, since there is evidence that males and agrosystem individuals are subjected to greater predation pressure. Results: Sprint speed as well as parotoid gland contrast and size appeared unrelated to the behavioural traits studied. In turn, body mass was negatively related to activity time, boldness and exploration. This trend is consistent with the fact that larger toads could be more detectable to their predators, which are mostly gape unconstrained and could easily consume them. As predicted, females exhibited riskier behaviours. Nonetheless, agrosystem toads did not differ from pine grove toads in the behavioural traits measured, despite being under stronger predation pressure

Una experiencia de cuidado del sapo espuelas con estudiantes de 1º de ESO

Se diseña y evalúa una experiencia indagatoria que implica el cuidado del sapo espuelas (fase larvaria, metamórfica y pos-metamórfica) durante casi tres meses. Se pretende mejorar la actitud hacia los sapos y contribuir al aprendizaje sobre anfibios. Con diseño cuasi-experimental de grupo único, se obtienen resultados positivos en las actitudes.Departamento de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales (Universidad de Granada)Grupo de Investigación HUM613 (Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales y de la Sostenibilidad)Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR)Máster Universitario de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanza de Idiomas. Especialidad en Biología-Geología (Escuela Internacional de Posgrado, Universidad de Granada

Inter-Individual Differences in Ornamental Colouration in a Mediterranean Lizard in Relation to Altitude, Season, Sex, Age, and Body Traits

Animals frequently show complex colour patterns involved in social communication, which attracts great interest in evolutionary and behavioural ecology. Most researchers interpret that each colour in animals with multiple patches may either signal a different bearer’s trait or redundantly convey the same information. Colour signals, moreover, may vary geographically and according to bearer qualities. In this study, we analyse different sources of colour variation in the eastern clade of the lizard Psammodromus algirus. Sexual dichromatism markedly differs between clades; both possess lateral blue eyespots, but whereas males in the western populations display strikingly colourful orange-red throats during the breeding season, eastern lizards only show some commissure pigmentation and light yellow throats. We analyse how different colour traits (commissure and throat colouration, and the number of blue eyespots) vary according to body size, head size (an indicator of fighting ability), and sex along an elevational gradient. Our findings show that blue eyespots function independently from colour patches in the commissure and throat, which were interrelated. Males had more eyespots and orange commissures (which were yellow or colourless in females). Throat colour saturation and the presence of coloured commissures increased in older lizards. The number of eyespots, presence of a coloured commissure, and throat colour saturation positively related to head size. However, while the number of eyespots was maximal at lowlands, throat colour saturation increased with altitude. Overall, our results suggest that this lizard harbours several colour signals, which altitudinally differ in their importance, but generally provide redundant information. The relevance of each signal may depend on the context. For example, all signals indicate head size, but commissure colouration may work well at a short distance and when the lizard opens the mouth, while both throat and eyespots might work better at long distance. Meanwhile, throat colouration and eyespots probably work better in different light conditions, which might explain the altitudinal variation in the relative importance of each colour component.Spanish government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación)European Union (project CGL2009-13185)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (FPU programme) FJZC (AP2009-3505) and SR (AP2009- 1325

CRECONAN, un cuestionario sobre conocimientos y actitudes hacia los anfibios y reptiles para la ESO

Se presenta el diseño de CRECONAN, un cuestionario sobre conocimientos y actitudes hacia anfibios y reptiles dirigido a estudiantes de ESO.Departamento de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales (Universidad de Granada)Grupo de Investigación HUM613 (Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales y de la Sostenibilidad)Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR)Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Españ

Kurzzeitwirkung eines kleinräumigen Buschfeuers auf Psammodromus algirus (linnaeus, 1758): eine vorher-nachher-Vergleichsuntersuchung (squamata: sauria: lacertidae)

In Mediterranean environments, wildfires are key in modelling landscapes, ecological succession and the dynamics of species and communities. however, in recent years, wildfires have increased in number and extent, resulting in a conservation concern. still, it is generally thought that reptiles are usually not harmed by wildfires, or even may be benefited. here, the authors used a Before-after-control-impact design to examine the effect of a small wildfire (16 ha) on the abundance of a lizard, Psammodromus algirus (linnaeUs, 1758). The findings suggest that the local population crashed as a result of the wildfire, although juvenile lizards quickly recolonized the burnt area from adjacent sites. almost a year after the fire, an adult P. algirus was detected in the burnt area. Therefore, the present study highlights that even a very small wildfire may negatively impact a Mediterranean lizard.This work was partially funded by the spanish Ministerio de ciencia e innovación, project cgl2009-13185

Crypsis Decreases with Elevation in a Lizard

Predation usually selects for visual crypsis, the colour matching between an animal and its background. Geographic co-variation between animal and background colourations is well known, but how crypsis varies along elevational gradients remains unknown. We predict that dorsal colouration in the lizard Psammodromus algirus should covary with the colour of bare soil—where this lizard is mainly found—along a 2200 m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). Moreover, we predict that crypsis should decrease with elevation for two reasons: (1) Predation pressure typically decreases with elevation, and (2) at high elevation, dorsal colouration is under conflicting selection for both crypsis and thermoregulation. By means of standardised photographies of the substratum and colourimetric measurements of lizard dorsal skin, we tested the colour matching between lizard dorsum and background. We found that, along the gradient, lizard dorsal colouration covaried with the colouration of bare soil, but not with other background elements where the lizard is rarely detected. Moreover, supporting our prediction, the degree of crypsis against bare soil decreased with elevation. Hence, our findings suggest local adaptation for crypsis in this lizard along an elevational gradient, but this local adaptation would be hindered at high elevations.This study has been economically supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (project CGL2009-13185)

Actitudes hacia los sapos en estudiantes de Magisterio de la Universidad de Granada

Los futuros maestros de Primaria e Infantil deberían tener una actitud positiva hacia animales amenazados como los sapos. Se presenta un estudio descriptivo de actitud hacia estos animales. Los resultados muestran valores similares a los de estudiantes de secundaria y diferencias según sexo y contacto con anfibios.Departamento de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales (Universidad de Granada)Grupo de Investigación HUM613 (Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales y de la Sostenibilidad)Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR

Salted roads lead to oedema and reduced locomotor function in amphibian populations

Human activities have caused massive losses of natural populations across the globe. Like many groups, amphibians have experienced substantial declines worldwide, driven by environmental changes such as habitat conversion, pollution, and disease emergence. Each of these drivers is often found in close association with the presence of roads. Here we report a novel consequence of roads affecting an amphibian native to much of North America, the wood frog (Rana sylvatica). Across 38 populations distributed from southern to central New England, we found that adult wood frogs living adjacent to roads had higher incidence and severity of oedema (indicated by obvious bloating caused by subcutaneous fluid accumulation) during the breeding season than frogs living away from the influence of roads. This effect was best explained by increased conductivity of breeding ponds, prob-ably caused by runoff pollution from road salt used for de-icing. Oedema severity was negatively correlated with locomotor performance in more northerly populations. Interestingly, northern populations experience more intense winters, which tends to result in more de-icing salt runoff and increased energetic demands associated with overwintering cryoprotection needs. Thus, this emerging consequence of roads appears to impose potential fitness costs associated with locomotion, and these effects might be most impactful on populations living in regions where de-icing is most intense.Together, our findings reveal a novel set of impacts of roads and runoff pollution on wood frog physiology and performance, which seem likely to contribute to population decline. Given the global prevalence of roads and increasing salinisation of freshwater habitats, oedema and related impacts could be widespread consequences faced by amphibian populations across much of the planet's temperate zonesThis work was supported by Mianus River Gorge Preserve, Elm City Innovation Collaborative, Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, EEES Graduate fellowship and Cramer funds, Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies McCulloch Fellowship, CAPES graduate fellowship (SwB 13442/13-9), the Margarita Salas Fellowship, and the National Science Foundation (DEB #1011335, DEB #1655092).Peer reviewe

The Tree Biodiversity Network (BIOTREE-NET): prospects for biodiversity research and conservation in the Neotropics

Biodiversity research and conservation efforts in the tropics are hindered by the lack of knowledge of the assemblages found there, with many species undescribed or poorly known. Our initiative, the Tree Biodiversity Network (BIOTREE-NET), aims to address this problem by assembling georeferenced data from a wide range of sources, making these data easily accessible and easily queried, and promoting data sharing. The database (GIVD ID NA-00-002) currently comprises ca. 50,000 tree records of ca. 5,000 species (230 in the IUCN Red List) from \u3e2,000 forest plots in 11 countries. The focus is on trees because of their pivotal role in tropical forest ecosystems (which contain most of the world\u27s biodiversity) in terms of ecosystem function, carbon storage and effects on other species. BIOTREE-NET currently focuses on southern Mexico and Central America, but we aim to expand coverage to other parts of tropical America. The database is relational, comprising 12 linked data tables. We summarise its structure and contents. Key tables contain data on forest plots (including size, location and date(s) sampled), individual trees (including diameter, when available, and both recorded and standardised species name), species (including biological traits of each species) and the researchers who collected the data. Many types of queries are facilitated and species distribution modelling is enabled. Examining the data in BIOTREE-NET to date, we found an uneven distribution of data in space and across biomes, reflecting the general state of knowledge of the tropics. More than 90% of the data were collected since 1990 and plot size varies widely, but with most less than one hectare in size. A wide range of minimum sizes is used to define a \u27tree\u27. The database helps to identify gaps that need filling by further data collection and collation. The data can be publicly accessed through a web application at http://portal.biotreenet.com. Researchers are invited and encouraged to contribute data to BIOTREE-NET