Factors influencing tadpole deposition site choice in a frog with male parental care: An experimental field study

AbstractParents have evolved a variety of strategies to minimize risks to their offspring, including complex choices regarding suitable rearing sites, based on abiotic and biotic factors, which differentially affect offspring survival. Because availability and quality of these sites are variable, parents may have to choose between immediately available lower ‐quality rearing sites or extended search time. In some frog species with larval transport, parents are known to select bodies of water that are free of predators, cannibalistic tadpoles, or intraspecific competitors for larval deposition and rearing sites. We tested whether abiotic factors and th e presence of predators and conspecific tadpoles affect tadpole deposition behavior in a population of smooth guardian frog,Limnonectes palavanensis, on the island of Borneo. Females lay eggs on land and males guard them until they hatch; after hatching, tadpoles climb onto the male's back and are subsequently transported to small pools of water on the forest floor, which are scarce and patchily distributed. We estimated the abundance of natural tadpole rearing sites in our study area and conducted experiments using artificial pools to test whether abiotic characteristics of these pools affect the probability of larval deposition. We also performed choice experiments to test whether males ofL.  palavanensis avoid pools with conspecific tadpoles or predators. Lastly, we tested whether the tadpoles of this species exhibit canni...

Source: Ethology - November 20, 2018 Category: Zoology Authors: Johana Goyes Vallejos, T. Ulmar Grafe, Kentwood D. Wells, S. Foster Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research