Increased tolerance to humans among disturbed wildlife.

Human disturbance drives the decline of many species, both directly and indirectly. Nonetheless, some species do particularly well around humans. One mechanism that may explain coexistence is the degree to which a species tolerates human disturbance. Here we provide a comprehensive meta-analysis of birds, mammals and lizards to investigate species tolerance of human disturbance and explore the drivers of this tolerance in birds. We find that, overall, disturbed populations of the three major taxa are more tolerant of human disturbance than less disturbed populations. The best predictors of the direction and magnitude of bird tolerance of human disturbance are the type of disturbed area (urbanized birds are more tolerant than rural or suburban populations) and body mass (large birds are more tolerant than small birds). By identifying specific features associated with tolerance, these results guide evidence-based conservation strategies to predict and manage the impacts of increasing human disturbance on birds

Distribuição temporal, sincronia reprodutiva e padrões de acasalamento do sapo de reprodução explosiva Dermatonotus muelleri (Anura: Microhylidae)

The knowledge about natural history of a species is fundamental for the proposition of theories in population, community, and behavioral ecology. Dermatonotus muelleri (Boettger, 1885) is one of the several Neotropical anuran species that still lacks basic information. These frogs are widely distributed in South America and present many peculiar morphological features, such as a reduced head size and a tongue morphology that suggests a specialized diet in ants and termites. However, D. muelleri is rare in anuran surveys, because of the explosive breeding behavior, which restrict its occurrence in aquatic habitats to few days a year, and the semi-fossorial habit, making the individuals inactive during most part of the year. In this study, we describe the reproductive ecology of Dermatonotus muelleri, with special attention to the mechanisms that regulates (i) the reproductive synchrony between males and females and (ii) the operational sex ratio (OSR), and (iii) if size is a good predictor of pairs formation (assortative mating)

Taking tadpole biology into the 21st century: a consensus paper from the First Tadpoles International Workshop

Although tadpoles are common, frequently encountered vertebrates, their natural history is poorly known. Despite the fact that Brazil harbors the highest anuran diversity in the world, with almost a thousand known species (Segalla et  al., 2014), the larvae of many species remain undescribed. The problem is not unique to Brazil. At the turn of the century, approximately ⅔ of almost 3,300 anuran species with a larval stage lacked tadpole descriptions (McDiarmid & Altig, 1999). The proportion of neotropical anurans with free-swimming larvae that are not described is estimated to be around 40% (Provete et al., 2012).Fil: Rossa Feres, Denise de C.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Venesky, Matthew. Allegheny College; Estados UnidosFil: Nomura, Fausto. Universidade Federal de Goias; BrasilFil: Eterovick, Paula C.. Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Vera Candioti, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Menin, Marcelo. Universidade Federal do Amazonas; BrasilFil: Juncá, Flora A.. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana; BrasilFil: Schiesari, Luis C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Haddad, Celio F. B.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Garey, Michel V.. Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana; BrasilFil: dos Anjos, Luciano A.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Wasserug, Richard. Dalhousie University Halifax; Canadá. University Of British Columbia; Canad

Análises Mutagênicas de Anuros em Áreas de Mineração de Níquel

Resumo: Biomonitoramento pode ser definido como o uso sistemático das respostas de organismos vivos para avaliar as mudanças ocorridas no ambiente, geralmente causadas por ações antrópicas. Neste artigo foram utilizados anfíbios anuros como bioindicadores da qualidade ambiental e o ensaio do micronúcleo como biomarcador. Esta análise indica a sensibilidade desses organismos frente aos agentes genotóxicos dissolvidos no meio ambiente. Palavras-chave: Micronúcleo. Anfíbios anuros. Bioindicadores. Biomarcadores

Padrões de diversidade e estrutura de taxocenoses de anfíbios anuros: análise em multi-escala espacial

No presente estudo, procurou-se investigar a relação entre os diferentes níveis de diversidade (alfa, beta e gama) de taxocenoses de anuros com a qualidade da cobertura vegetal e com padrões de diversidade morfológica. A diversidade alfa e gama apresentaram as mesmas repostas em função do gradiente de cobertura vegetal, sendo maior a influência de fatores estruturais em condições de maior cobertura e maior a influência de fatores climáticos em condições de menor cobertura. Em condições de maior cobertura vegetal foi encontrado um maior número de espécies arborícolas. Já espécies terrícolas vão se tornando mais comuns à medida que a cobertura vegetal vai sendo degradada. Entretanto, uma maior quantidade de espécies arborícolas não aumenta a diversidade morfológica da taxocenose. Espécies terrícolas, em função dos diferentes tipos do comportamento de escavação e divergências quanto ao hábito alimentar, proporcionam uma maior diversificação de estratégias para exploração do ambiente. Independente do grau de cobertura vegetal, a partilha do espaço acústico em taxocenoses de anuros ocorre entre três guildasdefinidas em função de características espectrais do canto de anúncio. Adicionlamente parece não haver influência de fatores ecológicos na relação entre o comprimento rostro-cloacal e a freqüência dominante do canto de anúncio. Em um extremo da relação entre o tamanho corporal e a freqüência dominante do canto de anúncio (espécies grandes – cantos graves) parece não haver a influência de fatores ecológicos, já que não houve tendência de espécies de maior porte a emitirem sons mais graves do que o esperado pelos modelos nulos. Entretanto, no outro extremo da relação (espécies pequenas – cantos agudos) foi encontrada uma tendência a espécies de pequeno porte a produzirem sons de freqüência mais alta do que o esperado...In the present study, we investigate the relationship between the different levels of diversity (alfa, beta and gamma) in anuran assemblages with a continuum in the vegetation cover. Strucutural factors were important for the determination of the alfa and gamma diversities for the maximum vegetational cover condition and climatic factors were important for the determination of these same diversities for the minimum vegetational cover condition. A similar response was obtained when the relationship between morphological diversity and the vegetational gradient was investigated. Arboreal anurans were commom in the maximum vegetational cover condition, whereas terrestrial anurans were commom in the minimum vegetational cover condition. However, the arboreal habit appears to be limited to a fewer morphological types than the terrestrial habit. Terrestrial forms could present a diversity of burrowing and feeding strategies that promote a divesification in the morphological types associated to the terrestrial habit. Additionally, we investigated the possible existence of ecological constraints in the relationship between the rostro-cloacal length and the dominant frequency, generally associated only to morphological constraints and considered a important signal for female choice. Independently of the degree of vegetational cover, the acoustic space was shared by three anurans guilds define by spectral properties of the call. The relationship between the rostro-cloacal length and the dominant frequency was investigated with a null model approach. A ecological constraint was detected only for the smallest species of anurans. Small anurans calls in higher frequencies when compared to the randomized data sets being more efficient in short distance communication. Small anurans have grater abundance during reproductive periods than large anurans. Calls of high frequency could allow that small anurans to select the calling sites closer to other calling anurans