To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Frogs and environment.
Journal articles on the topic 'Frogs and environment'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'Frogs and environment.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Oh, Hye-Ji, Kwang-Hyeon Chang, Mei-Yan Jin, Jong-Mo Suh, Ju-Duk Yoon, Kyung-Hoon Shin, Su-Gon Park, and Min-Ho Chang. "Trophic Ecology of Endangered Gold-Spotted Pond Frog in Ecological Wetland Park and Rice Paddy Habitats." Animals 11, no. 4 (March 31, 2021): 967. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11040967.
Full textAbstract:
The gold-spotted pond frog (Pelophylax chosenicus) is an endangered amphibian species in South Korea. In order to obtain ecological information regarding the gold-spotted pond frog’s habitat environment and biological interactions, we applied stable isotope analysis to quantify the ecological niche space (ENS) of frogs including black-spotted pond frogs (P. nigromaculatus) and bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) within the food web of two different habitats—an ecological wetland park and a rice paddy. The gold-spotted pond frog population exhibited a broader ENS in the ecological wetland park than in the rice paddy. According to the carbon stable isotope ratios, gold-spotted pond frogs mainly fed on insects, regardless of habitat type. However, the results comparing the range of both carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes showed that gold-spotted pond frogs living in the rice paddy showed limited feeding behavior, while those living in the ecological wetland park fed on various food sources located in more varied trophic positions. Although the ENS of the gold-spotted pond frog was generally less likely to be overlapped by that of other frog species, it was predicted to overlap with a high probability of 87.3% in the ecological wetland park. Nevertheless, gold-spotted pond frogs in the ecological wetland park were not significantly affected by the prey competition with competitive species by feeding on other prey for which other species’ preference was low. Since these results show that a habitats’ food diversity has an effect on securing the ENS of gold-spotted pond frogs and prey competition, we recommend that the establishment of a food environment that considers the feeding behavior of gold-spotted pond frogs is important for the sustainable preservation of gold-spotted pond frogs and their settlement in alternative habitats.
2
Bennett, A. M., and D. L. Murray. "Carryover effects of phenotypic plasticity: embryonic environment and larval response to predation risk in Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and Northern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates pipiens)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 93, no. 11 (November 2015): 867–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2015-0129.
Full textAbstract:
Limitations of phenotypic plasticity affect the success of individuals and populations in changing environments. We assessed the plasticity-history limitation on predator-induced defenses in anurans (Wood Frogs, Lithobates sylvaticus (LeConte, 1825), and Northern Leopard Frogs, Lithobates pipiens (Schreber, 1782)), predicting that plastic responses to predation risk by dragonfly larvae (family Aeshnidae) in the embryonic environment would limit the defensive response to predators in the larval environment. Predator-conditioned Wood Frog embryos increased relative tail depth in response to those same cues as larvae, whereas predator-naive tadpoles did not. However, no carryover effect was noted in the behavioural response of Wood Frog tadpoles to predation risk. Predator-naive Northern Leopard Frog tadpoles increased relative tail depth in response to predation risk in the larval environment. Predator-conditioned Northern Leopard Frog embryos hatched with, and maintained, a marginal increase in tail depth as larvae in the absence of predation risk. Predator-conditioned Northern Leopard Frog embryos exposed to predation risk as larvae showed no morphological response. While we find no strong support for the plasticity-history limitation per se, carryover effects across embryonic and larval life-history stages were noted in both Wood Frog and Northern Leopard Frog, suggesting that predation risk early in ontogeny can influence the outcome of future interactions with predators.
3
Rhebergen, F., R. C. Taylor, M. J. Ryan, R. A. Page, and W. Halfwerk. "Multimodal cues improve prey localization under complex environmental conditions." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282, no. 1814 (September 7, 2015): 20151403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1403.
Full textAbstract:
Predators often eavesdrop on sexual displays of their prey. These displays can provide multimodal cues that aid predators, but the benefits in attending to them should depend on the environmental sensory conditions under which they forage. We assessed whether bats hunting for frogs use multimodal cues to locate their prey and whether their use varies with ambient conditions. We used a robotic set-up mimicking the sexual display of a male túngara frog ( Physalaemus pustulosus ) to test prey assessment by fringe-lipped bats ( Trachops cirrhosus ). These predatory bats primarily use sound of the frog's call to find their prey, but the bats also use echolocation cues returning from the frog's dynamically moving vocal sac. In the first experiment, we show that multimodal cues affect attack behaviour: bats made narrower flank attack angles on multimodal trials compared with unimodal trials during which they could only rely on the sound of the frog. In the second experiment, we explored the bat's use of prey cues in an acoustically more complex environment. Túngara frogs often form mixed-species choruses with other frogs, including the hourglass frog ( Dendropsophus ebraccatus ). Using a multi-speaker set-up, we tested bat approaches and attacks on the robofrog under three different levels of acoustic complexity: no calling D. ebraccatus males, two calling D. ebraccatus males and five D. ebraccatus males. We found that bats are more directional in their approach to the robofrog when more D. ebraccatus males were calling. Thus, bats seemed to benefit more from multimodal cues when confronted with increased levels of acoustic complexity in their foraging environments. Our data have important consequences for our understanding of the evolution of multimodal sexual displays as they reveal how environmental conditions can alter the natural selection pressures acting on them.
4
Chuang, Tsai-Fu, and Yuan-Hsiou Chang. "A New Design Concept of an Ecological Corridor for Frogs to Improve Ecological Conservation." Sustainability 13, no. 20 (October 10, 2021): 11175. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su132011175.
Full textAbstract:
Ecological corridors are an essential element in conserving the biodiversity and proper functioning of ecosystems. Without their connectivity, a very large number of species would not have access to all of the habitats needed for their life cycles. Although the concept of an ecological corridor has been discussed for many years, few studies on ecological corridors for frogs have been conducted. Frogs are often considered to be a keystone species. They are a good indicator of habitat health, and they are often the first to be harmed by pollution or ecosystem deterioration. However, there have been reports of frogs crossing ecological corridors and being attacked or consumed by natural enemies. It is vital to create ecological corridors for frogs that allow them to migrate quickly and safely. The purpose of this study was to propose a new ecological corridor design concept for frogs to address the limitations mentioned above. In this paper, grey system theory was employed to offer the necessary information for the frog ladder’s design. In addition, the frog’s high jump capacity and its defense mechanisms against natural enemies were used to determine the rest space and shelter.
5
Aihara, Ikkyu, Ryu Takeda, Takeshi Mizumoto, Takuma Otsuka, and Hiroshi G. Okuno. "Size Effect on Call Properties of Japanese Tree Frogs Revealed by Audio-Processing Technique." Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics 29, no. 1 (February 20, 2017): 247–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.20965/jrm.2017.p0247.
Full textAbstract:
[abstFig src='/00290001/23.jpg' width='300' text='Calling behavior of a male Japanese Tree Frog' ] Sensing the external environment is a core function of robots and autonomous mechanics. This function is useful for monitoring and analyzing the ecosystem for our deeper understanding of the nature and accomplishing the sustainable ecosystem. Here, we investigate calling behavior of male frogs by applying audio-processing technique on multiple audio data. In general, male frogs call from their breeding site, and a female frog approaches one of the males by hearing their calls. First, we conducted an indoor experiment to record spontaneous calling behavior of three male Japanese tree frogs, and then separated their call signals according to independent component analysis. The analysis of separated signals shows that chorus size (i.e., the number of calling frogs) has a positive effect on call number, inter-call intervals, and chorus duration. We speculate that a competition in a large chorus encourages the male frogs to make their call properties more attractive to conspecific females.
6
Wolagole, Kristian, Kholik Kholik, Supriadi Supriadi, and Dina Oktaviana. "Distribusi Cacing Trematoda Saluran Pencernaan Katak Dari Berbabgai Lokasi Persawahan Di Kabupaten Lombok Timur." Mandalika Veterinary Journal 1, no. 1 (April 8, 2021): 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.33394/mvj.v1i1.3615.
Full textAbstract:
Trematode worms have been found in various types of frogs which cause disease in frogs or toads can be a reservoir for these worms. Lombok Island has many rice fields which are habitat for frogs. Frogs that live in this environment allow direct contact with various types of Trematodes. The purpose of this study was to determine the type and distribution of Trematoda worms found in the digestive tract of frogs in the rice fields of East Lombok Regency. A cross-sectional survey study using purposive sampling methods on frogs in three rice fields in East Lombok Regency was carried out in February 2020. Worms were collected from the digestive tract of frogs and fixed with 70% warm alcohol, cleaned with alcohol, and examined under a microscope. A total of 64 frog samples were taken in three rice fields, East Lombok Regency. A sample examination was carried out at the Equin Clinical Center Skill laboratory Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Mandalika University of Education. The results showed that Mesocoelium spp was distributed among frogs in three rice fields in East Lombok Regency, with a prevalence of 45% in Pringgabaya Village, 50% in Suele Village, and 53.57% in Tanjung Teros Village.
7
Nocera, F. P., A. De Filippis, N. Piscopo, L. Esposito, and L. De Martino. "Similarities between skin culturable bacterial species of pool frogs (Pelophylax lessonae) and their habitat." BULGARIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE 24, no. 1 (2021): 159–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.15547/bjvm.2019-0054.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of the present study was to investigate the culturable microflora of pool frogs (Pelophylax lessonae) and their belonging aquatic environment. A total of 60 samples (56 frog cutaneous swabs, 4 water samples) were inoculated onto different selective and differential agar plates to isolate Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria or yeasts. Microbial investigation of the water hosting frogs was also performed. Isolates were identified by API system and their antibiotic resistance profiles were evaluated by disk diffusion method on Mueller Hinton agar plates. Aeromonas hydrophila and Enterococcus durans were detected in almost all collected samples. Many of the bacterial isolates showed multidrug-resistant profiles. Importantly, this study highlights that skin frog microbiota is correlated to the belonging environment, and, moreover, some isolated bacterial strains resulted to be of interest in animal and public health, since the park was frequented by visitors of all ages.
8
MONTHE MOUMEGNI, Liliane Fleurette, Divine Doriane YEMDJIE MANE, Ruben NGOUANA TADJONG, Vanessa MAFOUO SONHAFOUO, Jean Raphael KANA, and Joseph TCHOUMBOUE. "The Feeding Regime of Goliath Frog (Conraua goliath) (Boulenger, 1906) in the Equato-guinean Zone of Cameroon." GABJ 5, no. 1 (January 25, 2021): 136–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.46325/gabj.v5i1.177.
Full textAbstract:
The feed preferences of Conraua goliath, an endogenous frog in central Africa were assessed in the present study. A total of 65 frogs (22 males, 22 females and 21 unspecified frogs) were obtained from hunters in 3 localities namely: Loum, Penja, and Nlonako in the Moungo division, littoral region of Cameroon. The methods of dissection, measurement, and stomach content analysis were used. The results revealed a large diversity of preys in the stomach namely: myriapods (25%), plants leaves and steems (21.19%), insects (19.56%), indigestible matters (19.56%), arachnids (4.89%), crustaceans (4.34%), mollusks (3.26%), amphibians (0.54%), annelids (0.54%) and reptiles (0.54%). The numerical percentage and the frequency of myriapods occurrence were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in males captured in the locality of Loum (100% and 35.55%) compared to the females (28.57% and 18.18%). Comparing the state of maturity, the numerical percentage and the frequency of occurrence of insects (100% and 42.85%) and indigestible matters (100% and 42.85%) were significantly higher in the youngs frogs (61.11% and 20.89%) captured in Loum compared to the adults (22.22% and 7.46%). Frogs of high weight (˃1000g) recorded significantly (P < 0.05) higher occurrence and numerical frequency of myriapods (100 and 70%), indigestible and detritus materials (100 and 40%) in low-weight frogs (<400g) and plants leaves and steems (50 and 47.36%) in medium-weight frogs (400 – 1000g). In conclusion, goliath frog is an omnivore fed on a variety of preys and plants according to their availability in the environment.
9
Liu, Yuxiang, Corbin D. Jones, Lainy B. Day, Kyle Summers, and Sabrina S. Burmeister. "Cognitive Phenotype and Differential Gene Expression in a Hippocampal Homologue in Two Species of Frog." Integrative and Comparative Biology 60, no. 4 (May 15, 2020): 1007–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa032.
Full textAbstract:
Synopsis The complexity of an animal’s interaction with its physical and/or social environment is thought to be associated with behavioral flexibility and cognitive phenotype, though we know little about this relationship in amphibians. We examined differences in cognitive phenotype in two species of frog with divergent natural histories. The green-and-black poison frog (Dendrobates auratus) is diurnal, displays enduring social interactions, and uses spatially distributed resources during parental care. Túngara frogs (Physalaemus=Engystomops pustulosus) are nocturnal, express only fleeting social interactions, and use ephemeral puddles to breed in a lek-type mating system. Comparing performance in identical discrimination tasks, we find that D. auratus made fewer errors when learning and displayed greater behavioral flexibility in reversal learning tasks than túngara frogs. Further, túngara frogs preferred to learn beacons that can be used in direct guidance whereas D. auratus preferred position cues that could be used to spatially orient relative to the goal. Behavioral flexibility and spatial cognition are associated with hippocampal function in mammals. Accordingly, we examined differential gene expression in the medial pallium, the amphibian homolog of the hippocampus. Our preliminary data indicate that genes related to learning and memory, synaptic plasticity, and neurogenesis were upregulated in D. auratus, while genes related to apoptosis were upregulated in túngara frogs, suggesting that these cellular processes could contribute to the differences in behavioral flexibility and spatial learning we observed between poison frogs and túngara frogs.
10
Matich, Philip, and Christopher M. Schalk. "Move it or lose it: interspecific variation in risk response of pond-breeding anurans." PeerJ 7 (June 7, 2019): e6956. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6956.
Full textAbstract:
Changes in behavior are often the proximate response of animals to human disturbance, with variability in tolerance levels leading some species to exhibit striking shifts in life history, fitness, and/or survival. Thus, elucidating the effects of disturbance on animal behavior, and how this varies among taxonomically similar species with inherently different behaviors and life histories is of value for management and conservation. We evaluated the risk response of three anuran species—southern leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus), Blanchard’s cricket frog (Acris blanchardi), and green tree frog (Hyla cinerea)—to determine how differences in microhabitat use (arboreal vs ground-dwelling) and body size (small vs medium) may play a role in response to a potential threat within a human-altered subtropical forest. Each species responded to risk with both flight and freeze behaviors, however, behaviors were species- and context-specific. As distance to cover increased, southern leopard frogs increased freezing behavior, green tree frogs decreased freezing behavior, and Blanchard’s cricket frogs increased flight response. The propensity of green tree frogs to use the canopy of vegetation as refugia, and the small body size of Blanchard’s cricket frogs likely led to greater flight response as distance to cover increased, whereas innate reliance on camouflage among southern leopard frogs may place them at greater risk to landscaping, agricultural, and transportation practices in open terrain. As such, arboreal and small-bodied species may inherently be better suited in human altered-landscapes compared to larger, ground-dwelling species. As land-use change continues to modify habitats, understanding how species respond to changes in their environment continues to be of importance, particularly in ecosystems where human-wildlife interactions are expected to increase in frequency.
11
Weitzman, Chava L., Karen Gibb, and Keith Christian. "Skin bacterial diversity is higher on lizards than sympatric frogs in tropical Australia." PeerJ 6 (November 14, 2018): e5960. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5960.
Full textAbstract:
Animal skin acts as a barrier between the organism and its environment and provides the first line of defense against invading pathogens. Thus, skin surfaces harbor communities of microbes that are interacting with both the host and its environment. Amphibian skin bacteria form distinct communities closely tied to their host species, but few studies have compared bacterial communities between amphibians and other, non-amphibian sympatric animals. Notably, skin microbes on reptiles have gained little attention. We used next-generation sequencing technology to describe bacterial communities on the skin of three lizard species and compared them to bacteria on six cohabiting frog species in the Northern Territory of Australia. We found bacterial communities had higher richness and diversity on lizards than frogs, with different community composition between reptiles and amphibians and among species. Core bacteria on the three lizard species overlapped by over 100 operational taxonomic units. The bacterial communities were similar within species of frogs and lizards, but the communities tended to be more similar between lizard species than between frog species and when comparing lizards with frogs. The diverse bacteria found on lizards invites further questions on how and how well reptiles interact with microorganisms through their scaly skin.
12
Gourevitch, Eleanor H. Z., and J. Roger Downie. "Evaluation of tree frog tracking methods using Phyllomedusa trinitatis (Anura: Phyllomedusidae)." Phyllomedusa: Journal of Herpetology 17, no. 2 (December 18, 2018): 233–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v17i2p233-246.
Full textAbstract:
Evaluation of tree frog tracking methods using Phyllomedusa trinitatis (Anura: Phyllomedusidae). Investigating the behaviors of small, inconspicuous and cryptic animals can be helped by tracking their movements. The effectiveness of different tracking methods can be very dependent on behavior and ecology; radio-telemetry and thread bobbins have been widely used over a range of environments and taxa, but each presents problems. Phyllomedusa trinitatis is a tree frog found in Trinidad and Venezuela and has mostly been studied for its nest building and breeding behavior, but little is known about its behavior away from breeding ponds. This study aimed to identify the strengths and weaknesses, including impacts on the welfare of these frogs, of different tracking methods, thread bobbins and radio-telemetry, when used to track them in a dense rainforest environment. A pilot study found that fuorescent dyes were unsuitable for this species. Individuals were tested in laboratory conditions to determine the application time for each tracker and to test on this species the tracker 10% weight rule. The rule was found to be too restrictive for this frog; trackers up to 15% of body weight were used with no signifcant impacts on distances travelled. Frogs became lethargic when bearing trackers longer than two days, so we limited tracking in the feld to one overnight period. Of the 26 frogs tracked in the feld (nine radio-tags, 17 bobbins), 16 were successful (six radio-tags, 10 bobbins) and six untracked frogs were found in the feld during the day as controls. Bobbins were cheaper and allowed visualization of the detailed path taken, including substrates used, but caused more bruising due to entanglement, and individuals tracked with this method were less likely to return on following nights to the breeding ponds. Radio-tags had no threat of entanglement but were much more expensive and the signal was interrupted by the dense vegetation preventing some individuals from being found. There were no signifcant differences in the distances travelled by tracked or control frogs, from which we infer that these tracking methods did not impact signifcantly on movement. It appears that neither of these tracking methods work perfectly for Phyllomedusa in a densely vegetated environment, and that both incur welfare problems. Our study emphasizes the need to test out tracking methods on each species in each habitat.
13
Beck, Kristina B., Matthias-Claudio Loretto, Max Ringler, Walter Hödl, and Andrius Pašukonis. "Relying on known or exploring for new? Movement patterns and reproductive resource use in a tadpole-transporting frog." PeerJ 5 (August 29, 2017): e3745. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3745.
Full textAbstract:
Animals relying on uncertain, ephemeral and patchy resources have to regularly update their information about profitable sites. For many tropical amphibians, widespread, scattered breeding pools constitute such fluctuating resources. Among tropical amphibians, poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) exhibit some of the most complex spatial and parental behaviors—including territoriality and tadpole transport from terrestrial clutches to ephemeral aquatic deposition sites. Recent studies have revealed that poison frogs rely on spatial memory to successfully navigate through their environment. This raises the question of when and how these frogs gain information about the area and suitable reproductive resources. To investigate the spatial patterns of pool use and to reveal potential explorative behavior, we used telemetry to follow males of the territorial dendrobatid frog Allobates femoralis during tadpole transport and subsequent homing. To elicit exploration, we reduced resource availability experimentally by simulating desiccated deposition sites. We found that tadpole transport is strongly directed towards known deposition sites and that frogs take similar direct paths when returning to their home territory. Frogs move faster during tadpole transport than when homing after the deposition, which probably reflects different risks and costs during these two movement phases. We found no evidence for exploration, neither during transport nor homing, and independent of the availability of deposition sites. We suggest that prospecting during tadpole transport is too risky for the transported offspring as well as for the transporting male. Relying on spatial memory of multiple previously discovered pools appears to be the predominant and successful strategy for the exploitation of reproductive resources in A. femoralis. Our study provides for the first time a detailed description of poison frog movement patterns during tadpole transport and corroborates recent findings on the significance of spatial memory in poison frogs. When these frogs explore and discover new reproductive resources remains unknown.
14
Putri, Anika, Mirza Dikari Kusrini, and Lilik Budi Prasetyo. "Pemodelan Kesesuaian Habitat Katak Serasah (Leptobrachium hasseltii Tschudi 1838) dengan Sistem Informasi Geografis di Pulau Jawa." Jurnal Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Alam dan Lingkungan (Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Management) 10, no. 1 (March 20, 2020): 12–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.29244/jpsl.10.1.12-24.
Full textAbstract:
Hasselt’s litter frogs (Leptobrachium hasseltii Tschudi 1838) is a wide spread species in Java and Sumatra, but there is no specific distribution map for this species. The purpose of this study is to identify the distribution of hasselt’s litter frogs in Java and examine the suitability of it’s using maxent. We used presence data and environment variables consisting of elevation, slope, NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), distance from the river, temperature, precipitation, and land cover to evelop the distribution model of this species. Hasselt’s litter frogs in Java depends on forested area with a wide range of elevation (lowland to mountain forests), moderate slope, temperature between 20-21oC and rainfall over 2500 mm/year. The highest number of frogs are found in secondary forest land cover, as supported by NDVI values between 0.8 to 0.9 and relatively close to the river. Habitat model constructed are robust with AUC (Area Under Curve) value of 0.951. Environmental variables that most affectted habitat for hasselt’s litter frog are land cover, temperature, and slope.
15
Tattersall, G. J., and R. G. Boutilier. "Does behavioural hypothermia promote post-exercise recovery in cold-submerged frogs?" Journal of Experimental Biology 202, no. 5 (March 1, 1999): 609–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.202.5.609.
Full textAbstract:
At the low temperatures of the overwintering environment of the frog Rana temporaria, small changes in ambient temperature have large effects on metabolism and behaviour, especially since Q10 values are often greatly elevated in the cold. How the overwintering aquatic frog copes with variable thermal environments in terms of its overall activity metabolism and recovery from pursuit by predators is poorly understood, as is the role of behavioural thermoregulation in furthering recovery from intense activity. Exhaustive exercise was chosen as the method of evaluating activity capacity (defined by time to exhaustion, total distance swum and number of leg contractions before exhaustion) and was determined at 1.5 and 7 degreesC. Other cohorts of frogs were examined at both temperatures to determine the metabolic (acid-base, lactate, glucose, ATP and creatine phosphate) and respiratory responses to exercise in cold-submerged frogs. Finally, temperature preference before and after exercise was determined in a thermal gradient to define the importance of behavioural thermoregulation on the recovery rates of relevant metabolic and respiratory processes. Activity capacity was significantly reduced in frogs exercised at 1.5 versus 7 degreesC, although similar levels of tissue acid-base metabolites and lactate were reached. Blood pH, plasma PCO2 and lactate levels recovered more rapidly at 1.5 degreesC than at 7 degreesC; however, intracellular pH and the recovery of tissue metabolite levels were independent of temperature. Resting aerobic metabolic rates were strongly affected by temperature (Q10=3.82); however, rates determined immediately after exercise showed a reduced temperature sensitivity (Q10=1.67) and, therefore, a reduced factorial aerobic scope. Excess oxygen consumption recovered to resting values after 5–6.25 h, and 67 % recovery times tended to be slightly faster at the lower temperatures. Exercise in the cold, therefore, provided an immediately higher factorial scope, which could be involved in the faster rate of recovery of blood lactate levels in the colder frogs. In addition, exercise significantly lowered the preferred temperature of the frogs from 6.7 to 3.6 degreesC for nearly 7 h, after which they returned to their normal, unstressed preferred temperatures. Thus, a transient behavioural hypothermia in the skin-breathing, overwintering frog may be an important strategy for minimising post-exercise stress and maintaining aerobic metabolism during recovery from intense activity.
16
Gibb, Karen, Xavier Schobben, and Keith Christian. "Frogs host faecal bacteria typically associated with humans." Canadian Journal of Microbiology 63, no. 7 (July 2017): 633–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjm-2017-0119.
Full textAbstract:
Tree frogs commonly access drinking water tanks; this may have human health implications. Although amphibians might not be expected to host mammalian faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), it is possible that they may have human FIB on their skin after exposure to human waste. We collected faeces and skin wash from green tree frogs (Litoria caerulea) from a natural environment, a suburban site, and a suburban site near a creek occasionally contaminated with sewage effluent. We used molecular techniques to test for FIB that are routinely used to indicate human faecal contamination. Enterococci colonies were isolated from both faecal and skin wash samples, and specific markers (Enterococcus faecium and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron) were found in frog faeces, demonstrating that these markers are not human- or mammalian-specific. Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron was detected in frogs from both natural and urban sites, but E. faecium was only associated with the sewage impacted site.
17
Mello, Sílvia Conceição Reis Pereira, Roberto Rodrigues de Oliveira, Marcelo Maia Pereira, Eliane Rodrigues, Willian Nascimento Silva, and José Teixeira de Seixas Filho. "Development of a water recirculating system for bullfrog production: technological innovation for small farmers." Ciência e Agrotecnologia 40, no. 1 (February 2016): 67–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1413-70542016000100006.
Full textAbstract:
ABSTRACT Despite the technological progress in frog farming, issues related to the environment, biosafety, and the use of technologies that minimise environmental impacts are frequently neglected by farmers. With the goal of developing a low-cost technology for reuse and preservation of water quality, an anaerobic filtering system combined with an aerobic filtering system was implemented in the grow-out sector in the Frog Culture Research Unit at Fundação Instituto de Pesca do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FIPERJ). The filtering system received the effluent from six pens of frogs that were populated with 362 frogs in different development phases. The efficiency of the filtering system was evaluated by an analysis of the water before and after passing through the filters. In addition to the standards of water quality, the animals' performance was also observed through monitoring rates of survival, weight gain and feed conversion ratio. The results showed the effectiveness of the filtering system by removing organic matter, on average 87%. The values of total ammonia and non-ionisable reached 1.04 and 0.004 mg/L, respectively. Also, frogs subjected to the system presented satisfactory rates of weight gain and a high survival rate (97%).
18
Arroyyan, Ahmad Nauval, Evy Arida, and Nirmala Fitria Firdhausi. "FIRST REPORT ON THE FEEDING BEHAVIOR OF EARLESS MONITOR, LANTHANOTUS BORNEENSIS AND ITS PREDATION ON RICE FIELD FROG, FEJERVARYA LIMNOCHARIS IN A CAPTIVE ENVIRONMENT." TREUBIA 48, no. 2 (December 30, 2021): 103–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.14203/treubia.v48i2.4115.
Full textAbstract:
Being endemic to Borneo, the Earless monitor, Lanthanotus borneensis (Steindachner, 1878) is rarely found in its habitats due to its cryptic behavior. We provide care for confiscated animals in the Reptile House of Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB) in Cibinong, West Java, Indonesia since 2014. Little is known on its natural prey but from scattered descriptive reports. This study is aimed at documenting the feeding behavior of ten captive Earless monitors and events of predation on frogs. We set up two experiments, one with meat of Rice Field Frog, Fejervarya limnocharis, and the other with live frog of the same species. Our recorded observations ran for four weeks for the frog meat feeding experiment and followed by the frog predation experiment. Our results showed that lizards constantly accepted frog meat. Lizards tended to feed before sunset for a short period of time on the muddy soil surface, although a few individuals inconsistently fed under water. The average body mass for these lizards increased by 4.29 g and average SVL by 0.45 cm. We recorded predation on frogs in three out of ten individuals observed during this study. If F. limnocharis is confirmed to occur in the natural habitats of L. borneensis, it is possible that this frog species is among the natural prey for Earless monitors. Further studies on its natural diets should be conducted to gain in-depth knowledge essential for generating effective captive husbandry for this nationally protected species in Indonesia.
19
Smith, Benjamin P. C., Yoji Hayasaka, Michael J. Tyler, and Brian D. Williams. "β-caryophyllene in the skin secretion of the Australian green tree frog, Litoria caerulea: an investigation of dietary sources." Australian Journal of Zoology 52, no. 5 (2004): 521. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo04019.
Full textAbstract:
Uptake of noxious and toxic compounds from the diet and their subsequent concentration in integumentary glands is an important step in the defence strategy of many frog species. In this study we show that the Australian green tree frog, Litoria caerulea White, is capable of sequestering β-caryophyllene (a prominent component of the parotoid gland secretion of wild frogs), and most probably other terpenes, from its diet. Animals fed caryophyllene-dosed crickets rapidly acquired the compound in high quantities after only one feeding. Furthermore, dietary analysis of wild-caught animals identified a major source of caryophyllene (the spur-throated grasshopper) in the frogs' diet. Although the ecological significance of this uptake system has not been clarified, the presence of terpenes in the parotoid gland secretions of L. caerulea is interesting when viewed in terms of their wide spectrum of bioactivity and abundance in the environment.
20
Mageski, Marcio Marques, Elaine Costa Campinhos, Charles Duca, Maria Carolina Stein, Melissa Peron de Oliveira, and Rute Beatriz Garcia Clemente-Carvalho. "Diet of bromeliad-frog Phyllodytes luteolus (Anura, Hylidae) in Atlantic Forest environments: what have the frogs been eating outside sandy coastal plains?" Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 59 (July 3, 2019): e20195929. http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2019.59.29.
Full textAbstract:
Knowledge about the diet of anurans in different environments is essential to understanding important aspects of their trophic ecology. The bromeliad-frog Phyllodytes luteolus inhabits tank bromeliads in sandy coastal plains and lowland forests on the mainland, as well as a continental island in southeastern Brazil. In this work, we describe and analyze the diet of P. luteolus in three environments. We obtained the consumed prey items of 92 frogs (32 from sandy coastal plain, 32 from lowland forest and 28 from the island) via a stomach-flushing procedure. We found some variations in consumed prey composition and prey volume across populations, but ants represented the most important consumed prey in all environments. Only ants had a relative importance greater than 50%, which may suggest a specialized diet that transcends the sandy coastal plain environment.
21
Pandey, Anuranjan. "Detecting Bird and Frog Species Using Tropical Soundscape." International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology 9, no. 11 (November 30, 2021): 1173–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2021.38953.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract: In the tropical jungle, hearing a species is considerably simpler than seeing it. The sounds of many birds and frogs may be heard if we are in the woods, but the bird cannot be seen. It is difficult in this these circumstances for the expert in identifying the many types of insects and harmful species that may be found in the wild. An audio-input model has been developed in this study. Intelligent signal processing is used to extract patterns and characteristics from the audio signal, and the output is used to identify the species. Sound of the birds and frogs vary according to their species in the tropical environment. In this research we have developed a deep learning model, this model enhances the process of recognizing the bird and frog species based on the audio features. The model achieved a high level of accuracy in recognizing the birds and the frog species. The Resnet model which includes block of simple and convolution neural network is effective in recognizing the birds and frog species using the sound of the animal. Above 90 percent of accuracy is achieved for this classification task. Keywords: Bird Frog Detection, Neural Network, Resnet, CNN.
22
Semlitsch, Raymond D., Joyce Pickle, Matthew J. Parris, and Richard D. Sage. "Jumping performance and short-term repeatability of newly metamorphosed hybrid and parental leopard frogs ( Rana sphenocephala and Rana blairi )." Canadian Journal of Zoology 77, no. 5 (October 1, 1999): 748–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z99-036.
Full textAbstract:
Differential fitness between hybrid and parental genotypes plays a critical role in explaining the maintenance of natural hybrid zones as well as the production of novel genetic variation that may lead to diversification. Because locomotor performance is a reliable and practical measure of potential fitness related to morphological variation, we tested for differences in jumping performance among parental and hybrid genotypes of newly metamorphosed leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala and Rana blairi). Tadpoles of the parental species and primary and backcross hybrid tadpoles, generated from artificial crosses (a total of five genotypes), were reared at two initial larval densities. Locomotor performance of newly metamorphosed frogs, as measured by jumping ability, was tested three times over 6 days in the laboratory at 24-25°C. Maximum and average jump lengths were greater for metamorphs reared at low larval density than for those reared at high density. Regression analyses indicated that 70-79% of the variation in jump length was due to body mass. When reared at low density, metamorphs of two F1 backcross genotypes (HB and HS) and one primary hybrid genotype (SB) jumped shorter distances than either parental species. When reared at high density, hybrid performance was indistinguishable from that of the parentals, except for one backcross hybrid (HB). Moderately high short-term repeatabilities (0.47-0.66) of metamorphs reared at the high density indicate that measures of performance in newly metamorphosed frogs can be predictive. We suggest that, owing to poor jumping performance, some hybrid frogs would be at a selective disadvantage relative to their parental species in the terrestrial environment and thus would partially reinforce mechanisms of reproductive isolation in this leopard frog system. Yet equivalent performance of some hybrids relative to the parentals, at least when reared at low density, suggests that hybrid lineages also have the potential to evolve independently in some environments.
23
Park, Jun-Kyu, Ki Wha Chung, Ji Yoon Kim, and Yuno Do. "Population Structure and Morphological Pattern of the Black-Spotted Pond Frog (Pelophylax nigromaculatus) Inhabiting Watershed Areas of the Geum River in South Korea." Sustainability 14, no. 24 (December 9, 2022): 16530. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su142416530.
Full textAbstract:
Black-spotted pond frogs (Pelophylax nigromaculatus), widely distributed in East Asia, can be suitably used for the study of population genetic patterns and ecosystem monitoring. To systematically manage, conserve, and study this species, it is necessary to understand its habitat range. We analyzed the genetic and morphological range of black-spotted pond frog populations within a watershed of the Geum River, one of the main rivers in South Korea. We genotyped the frogs based on seven microsatellite loci and defined the skull shape based on landmark-based geometric morphometrics. One watershed area was divided into 14 sub-watershed areas, the smallest unit of the Geum River basin. The genetic structure of frogs among the 14 sub-watershed areas did not differ significantly, nor was correlated with geographic distance. Therefore, frogs within these watershed areas constitute a single population. Morphologically, they differed between some sub-watershed areas, but morphological distance did not correlate with genetic distance but rather with geographic distance. This morphological change differs depending on the environmental gradient rather than the genetic structure. As a single population, frogs in this watershed area need to be managed in an integrated way. We suggest that the identification of response and adaptation by population genetics must be compared across and beyond the watershed range.
24
Pastorino, Paolo, Marino Prearo, Alessia Di Blasio, Damià Barcelò, Serena Anselmi, Silvia Colussi, Silvia Alberti, et al. "Microplastics Occurrence in the European Common Frog (Rana temporaria) from Cottian Alps (Northwest Italy)." Diversity 14, no. 2 (January 19, 2022): 66. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d14020066.
Full textAbstract:
Microplastics (MPs) pollution is arousing growing attention, yet knowledge about its occurrence in amphibians is scant to date. With this study, we aimed to determine whether plastic (>5000 μm) and MPs (10–5000 μm) could be detected in adult Rana temporaria from a high-mountain ecosystem (the Cottian Alps, northwest Italy). To do this, aquatic compartments and the digestive tract of adult R. temporaria were analyzed. Water, sediment, periphyton, aquatic macroinvertebrates, and tadpoles tested negative for plastic and MPs. Microplastics were detected in all the adult frogs (n = 5); all the identified items (one per specimen) were fibers (size range: 550.91–2355.51 µm). A statistically significant positive correlation between the particle length and frog size was recorded. The predominant fiber color was blue. The chemical composition was polyamide (60%), polyethylene (20%), and polyethylene terephthalate (20%). Since both the biotic and the abiotic freshwater compartments (tadpoles included) revealed the absence of MPs, it can be assumed that adult frogs ingest MPs from the surrounding terrestrial environment.
25
Maekawa, Shun, Hitomi Iemura, Yuko Kuramochi, Nami Kosaka-Nogawa, Hironori Nishikawa, Youichi Aizawa, and Takashi Kato. "A New Animal Model for Anemia Induced by Environmental Low-Temperature: Physiology of Erythrocyte Production and Circulation." Blood 112, no. 11 (November 16, 2008): 4770. http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/blood.v112.11.4770.4770.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract To survive, organisms must adapt to changes in the ambient environment. Here, we describe a new model of anemia based on exposure of African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis to low-temperature. Frogs exposed at low-temperature (5ºC) for five days had decreased numbers of peripheral blood erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes as well as low hemoglobin levels. By contrast, spleen erythrocytes increased in number. Cell counts returned to normal in frogs re-warmed at ambient temperature (22ºC) for two days. To confirm these observations in vivo, we labeled peripheral blood cells with fluorescent reagent CFSE. During five days at 5ºC, labeled erythrocytes in peripheral blood decreased in number while those in spleen increased. When the temperature was raised to 22ºC, however, their numbers increased in peripheral blood. The findings suggested that exposure to low-temperature resulted in splenic pooling of peripheral erythrocytes. Accordingly, we looked at recovery from anemia induced by phenylhydrazine (PHZ) in this model. PHZ-treated frogs maintained at 22ºC decreased numbers of peripheral erythrocytes that were minimal on day 8, and increased gradually thereafter. In the liver, we found erythrocyte progenitors expressing erythropoietin receptor and GATA1-A detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions and immunocytochemical staining but no mature forms. In PHZ-treated frogs exposed to 5ºC, peripheral erythrocyte counts remained minimal from day 8, and reversibly recovered when temperature returned to 22ºC. Erythrocyte progenitors were present in liver on day 8 but absent on day 12. Conversely, mature erythrocytes were absent in liver on day 8 but present on day 12. Finally, to learn whether the progenitors proliferate and differentiate without migrating from liver to peripheral blood, we treated frogs with thymidine analog bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). In frogs kept at 22 ºC, BrdU-labeled erythrocytes were abundant in both liver and peripheral blood. However, frogs cooled at 5ºC had labeled cells in liver but few in peripheral blood. The findings suggest low-temperature exposure cause this anemia by impairing migration of mature/immature erythrocytes from the liver. In summary, this amphibian model offers a new perspective for investigating physiological effects of environmental temperature on vertebrate erythropoiesis.
26
Jaafar, Haryati, and Dzati Athiar Ramli. "Effect of Natural Background Noise and Man-Made Noise on Automated Frog Calls Identification System." Journal of Tropical Resources and Sustainable Science (JTRSS) 3, no. 1 (July 18, 2021): 208–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.47253/jtrss.v3i1.559.
Full textAbstract:
Frog identification based on their calls becomes important for biological research and environmental monitoring. However, identifying particular frog calls becomes challenging particularly when the frog calls are interrupted with noises either in natural background noise or man-made noise. Hence, an automatic identification frog call system that robust in noisy environment has been proposed in this paper. Experimental studies of 675 audio obtained from 15 species of frogs in the Malaysian forest and recorded in an outdoor environment are used in this study. These audio data are then corrupted by 10dB and 5dB noise. A syllable segmentation technique i.e. short time energy (STE) and Short Time Average Zero Crossing Rate (STAZCR) and feature extraction, Mel-Frequency Cepstrum Coefficients (MFCC) are employed to segment the desired syllables and extract the segmented signal. Subsequently, the Local Mean k-Nearest Neighbor with Fuzzy Distance Weighting (LMkNN-FDW) are employed as a classifier in order to evaluate the performance of the identification system. The experimental results show both of natural background noise and man-made noise outperform by 95.2% and 88.27% in clean SNR, respectively.
27
Park, Jun-Kyu, Woong-Bae Park, and Yuno Do. "Identifying Popular Frogs and Attractive Frog Calls from YouTube Data." Sustainability 14, no. 16 (August 18, 2022): 10258. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su141610258.
Full textAbstract:
Public interest in and preferences for certain species can sometimes provide an opportunity for conservation and management. Here, we attempted to identify ‘popular’ anurans from YouTube data. In addition, the attractiveness of anuran advertisement-calling sounds were analyzed using acoustic data. By searching YouTube with the search term ‘frog calling’, 250 videos were selected. Of these, 174 videos could be classified according to species; these videos aided in extracting clean calling sounds, free from the overlapping calls of other male frogs, as well as other sounds. To assess the interests and preferences of viewers for different species, the numbers of videos, view counts, ‘likes,’ and ‘dislikes’ were recorded. From the videos, the calls of 78 species belonging to 17 families were identified. Viewer interest was highest for the Hylidae and Ranidae species, which are often discoverable in the field. In addition, invasive frogs had large numbers of videos and large numbers of ‘likes.’ People tended to prefer frogs calling with lower dominant frequencies. However, there were few videos on endangered species, and these garnered relatively less interest than other species. To manage and conserve invasive or endangered frog species, there is a need to increase ecological understanding by adjusting species awareness and charisma.
28
Alloush, Menemsha, Douglas Scofield, Susanne Marczak, Robin Jones, Kristine Kaiser, Mark Oliva, Peter M. Narins, and Katherine Martineau. "When sounds collide: the effect of anthropogenic noise on a breeding assemblage of frogs in Belize, Central America." Behaviour 148, no. 2 (2011): 215–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/000579510x551660.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractMany organisms depend on acoustic communication for myriad functions, and have evolved behaviours to minimize effects of naturally occurring acoustic interference. However, as habitats are subject to increased alteration, anthropogenic noise becomes unavoidable, and how animals overcome such interference is not well understood. In most ecosystems, only a subset of frog species is associated with disturbed habitats; the ability of these species to overcome exogenous noise suggests that habitat associations may be related to species' response to noise. We tested the hypothesis that frogs associated with largely undisturbed forest habitat would be less likely to increase call output in response to exogenous noise than would those associated with disturbed or open habitat. While this relationship was not significant, we found a slight trend supporting the hypothesis. We then asked whether anthropogenic noise affects chorus tenure at individual- or at chorus-levels. Male frogs exposed to anthropogenic noise decreased both the number of days present at the chorus and the nightly chorus duration relative to controls. Because females generally join choruses late at night to breed, the effects of noise shown here are likely to substantially decrease frog reproductive success; thus, the acoustic environment may play an important role in shaping population dynamics and in amphibian declines.
29
Bosch, J., and I. De la Riva. "Are frog calls modulated by the environment? An analysis with anuran species from Bolivia." Canadian Journal of Zoology 82, no. 6 (June 1, 2004): 880–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z04-060.
Full textAbstract:
Studies have shown that long-range songs of birds and primates are structurally adapted to local habitat acoustics. The evolution of frog calls, however, seems to be less influenced by habitat. Frogs are extremely dependent on energetically costly acoustic signals, which frequently have to be transmitted over large distances to elicit an encounter with the opposite sex. Different acoustic properties of advertisement calls from 95 Bolivian anuran species were analyzed according to their taxonomic position and the habitat characteristics where each species occurred. The majority of call characteristics, such as diversity of notes, number of pulses per note, or dominant frequency, appear strongly related to taxonomic position. Large-scale habitat characteristics (ecoregion and macrohabitat type) were not related to call characteristics, whereas small-scale habitat (microhabitat) complexity appeared to explain some of the variation in dominant frequency modulation. Species that call in closed microhabitats are more likely to use frequency-modulated calls, which may allow for more efficient sound transmission. To further the understanding of frog-call evolution in response to habitat selection, this and other studies have indicated that studies at finer spatial scales are needed, as well as additional studies restricted to the genus or species level.
30
Genty, Gabrielle, Carlos E. Guarnizo, Juan P. Ramírez, Lucas S. Barrientos, and Andrew J. Crawford. "Landscape Genetics and Species Delimitation in the Andean Palm Rocket Frog (Aromobatidae, Rheobates)." Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 2022 (February 9, 2022): 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/6774225.
Full textAbstract:
The complex topography of the species-rich northern Andes creates heterogeneous environmental landscapes that are hypothesized to have promoted population fragmentation and diversification by processes such as vicariance or local adaptation. Previous phylogenetic work on the palm rocket frog (Anura: Aromobatidae: Rheobates spp.), endemic to midelevation forests of Colombia, suggested that valleys were important in promoting divergence between lineages. In this study, we first evaluated previous hypotheses of species-level diversity, then fitted an isolation-with-migration (IM) historical demographic model, and tested two landscape genetic models to explain genetic divergence within Rheobates: isolation by distance and isolation by environment. The data consisted of two mitochondrial and four nuclear genes from 24 samples covering most of the geographic range of the genus. Species delimitation by Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography recovered five highly divergent genetic lineages within Rheobates, among which few to no migrants are exchanged according to IM. We found that isolation by environment provided the only variable significantly correlated with genetic distances for both mitochondrial and nuclear genes, suggesting that local adaptation may have a role in driving the genetic divergence within this frog genus. Thus, genetic divergence in Rheobates may be driven more by variation among the local environments where these frogs live rather than by geographic distance.
31
Thomas, Nunia, Clare Morrison, Linto Winder, and Craig Morley. "Spatial distribution and habitat preferences of co-occurring vertebrate species: Case study of an endangered frog and an introduced toad in Fiji." Pacific Conservation Biology 17, no. 1 (2011): 68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc110068.
Full textAbstract:
Wildlife management, particularly the conservation of threatened species, often involves habitat management and an understanding of species preferences. Much ecological data used to establish rare and endangered species distributions and/or habitat associations exists in the form of point counts which often violates the assumptions of commonly used statistical techniques. In this study, the spatial distribution and habitat preferences of an endangered, endemic frog (Platymantis vitianus — Fiji ground frog) and an introduced toad (Rhinella marina — cane toad) were observed and mapped on a 60 ha island using a grid of 232 sampling points with 50 × 20 m spacing. The Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices (SADIE) analytical tool demonstrated that despite the wide range of habitats present on Viwa Island, both ground frogs and cane toads displayed clear and defined macrohabitat preferences. Whilst both species showed a strong preference for Inocarpus fagifer forests, there was little overlap in other habitat types with the ground frogs preferring more densely vegetated forest habitats and cane toads preferring more open habitat types close to both permanent and temporary water sources. Within the I. fagifer forests, there was no evidence of overlap in the distributions of the two species. The spatial pattern evident indicates that cane toad and ground frog populations co-exist, probably due to similar habitat preferences. However, a more detailed study on the interactions between the two species within their natural environment is needed to determine the nature and magnitude of the impact of the cane toad on the ground frog.
32
Youngquist, Melissa B., and Michelle D. Boone. "Larval development and survival of pond-breeding anurans in an agricultural landscape impacted more by phytoplankton than surrounding habitat." PLOS ONE 16, no. 7 (July 26, 2021): e0255058. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255058.
Full textAbstract:
The destruction of freshwater habitat is a major contributor to biodiversity loss in aquatic ecosystems. However, created or restored wetlands could partially mitigate aquatic biodiversity loss by increasing the amount of available habitat across a landscape. We investigated the impact of surrounding terrestrial habitat and water quality variables on suitability for two species of pond-breeding amphibians (bullfrogs [Lithobates catesbeianus] and Blanchard’s cricket frogs [Acris blanchardi]) in created permanent wetlands located on an agricultural landscape. We examined tadpole growth and survival in field enclosures placed in ponds surrounded by agricultural, forested, or grassland habitats. We also evaluated the potential for carryover effects of the aquatic environment on terrestrial growth and overwinter survival of cricket frog metamorphs. We found that habitat adjacent to ponds did not predict tadpole growth or survival. Rather, phytoplankton abundance, which showed high variability among ponds within habitat type, was the only predictor of tadpole growth. Cricket frogs emerged larger and earlier from ponds with higher phytoplankton abundance; bullfrogs were also larger and at a more advanced developmental stage in ponds with higher levels of phytoplankton. Overwinter survival of cricket frogs was explained by size at metamorphosis and there were no apparent carryover effects of land use or pond-of-origin on overwinter growth and survival. Our results demonstrate that created ponds in human-dominated landscapes can provide suitable habitat for some anurans, independent of the adjacent terrestrial habitat.
33
Rojahn, Jack, Dianne Gleeson, and Elise M. Furlan. "Monitoring post-release survival of the northern corroboree frog, Pseudophryne pengilleyi, using environmental DNA." Wildlife Research 45, no. 7 (2018): 620. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr17179.
Full textAbstract:
Context Translocations are becoming an increasingly important conservation tool to combat rising levels of species extinction. Unfortunately, many translocation efforts fail; yet, the timing and cause of failure often remain unknown. Monitoring individuals in the days and weeks following release can provide valuable information on their capacity to survive this initial hurdle. In Australia, breeding programs have been established for the endangered northern corroboree frog, Pseudophryne pengilleyi, to enable reintroduction to the wild via captive-reared individuals, typically, early life stages such as eggs or juvenile frogs that cannot be monitored via traditional survey methods that target adult frogs (e.g. shout–response). Environmental DNA (eDNA) detects trace amounts of DNA that organisms release into their environment and could provide a means to infer population persistence for wildlife releases and translocations. Aims In the present study, we aim to develop an eDNA assay capable of detecting both sexes of P. pengilleyi across multiple life stages, and use it to monitor their survival. Methods An eDNA assay was developed to target the two corroboree frog species (P. pengilleyi and P. corroboree, the southern corroboree frog) and was tested for its sensitivity and specificity in silico and in vitro. Pseudophryne pengilleyi eggs were released into three naturally occurring ponds and water samples were, subsequently, collected from each pond on several occasions over a period of 78 days. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect P. pengilleyi eDNA from water samples. Key Results The developed assay was shown to be sensitive and specific to corroboree frogs. eDNA monitoring of reintroduced P. pengilleyi detected the species’ DNA at three of three release ponds and DNA remained detectable until at least 78 days post-release at two of three ponds. Conclusions We show how the development of a corroboree frog-specific assay allowed us to monitor the post-release survival of P. pengilleyi in naturally occurring pools. Implications eDNA surveys may provide a useful tool to monitor post-release survival of translocated populations in a non-invasive manner, with the potential to identify the timing and causes of failure. Such knowledge can be used to inform the management of translocated populations and future release strategies.
34
RYAN, MICHAEL J. "Energetic Efficiency of Vocalization by the Frog Physalaemus Pustulosus." Journal of Experimental Biology 116, no. 1 (May 1, 1985): 47–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.116.1.47.
Full textAbstract:
1. Male Physalaemus pustulosus consume, on average, 1.2 μl of oxygen in the production of a single call, which is equivalent to an energy input per call of 0.024 J. 2. The total power of complex calls, which can have a varying number of components, ranged from 0.36 to 0.46 mW. The total acoustic energy contained in these complex calls ranged from 0.12 to 0.30mJ. 3. The energetic efficiency of the vocalization ranged from 0.5 to 1.2% which is similar to the range estimated for some other animals. 4. The low energetic efficiency of vocalization by these frogs is due, in part, to the fact that the wavelengths of the call are too long, relative to the size of the frog, to be radiated efficiently. 5. Although shorter wavelengths (higher frequencies) are radiated by the frog at relatively greater intensities, longer wavelengths (lower frequencies) attenuate less rapidly in the environment. It is suggested that selection generated by the acoustics of the environment favours calls with lower frequencies, but the morphology of the animal sets a lower limit to which frequencies can evolve.
35
Romashov and Romashova. "INSERT HOST IN THE LIFE CYCLE OF ALARIA ALATA (TREMATODA, STRIGEIDIDA) IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE CENTRAL BLACK-EARTH ZONE." THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PARASITIC DISEASE CONTROL, no. 22 (May 19, 2021): 431–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.31016/978-5-6046256-1-3.2021.22.431-435.
Full textAbstract:
Currently, an increase in cases of infection of wild and domestic carnivores with the trematode Alaria alata (Trematoda, Strigeidida) is currently recorded in the Central Black-Earth Zone. The trematode A. alata has a complex life cycle involving intermediate, insert and reservoir hosts. We obtained new data on the realization of the life cycle of A. alata in the natural environment of the Central Black-Earth Zone. The moor frog (Rana arvalis), green toad (Bufotes viridis) and spade-footed toad (Pelobates fuscus) are recorded as insert hosts. Infection with mesocercarias A. alata of the moor frog is 20% (the prevalence) and 23 specimens (infection intensity). The moor frog is the most numerous species among amphibians and is characterized by high in-touch capabilities with carnivorous mammals. The moor frog is the main insert host in the circulation of A. alata in natural biocenoses. We have identified the localization of the Alaria mesocercarias in the moor frog, namely, the pericardium and subcutaneous tissue of the intermaxillary space. We determined the distribution of mesocercarias in moor frogs of this year's brood: 71% in the head; 25.8% in the hind legs; 22.6% in the trunk; and 3.2% in the front legs. The green toad and spade-footed toad were also classified as insert hosts of A. alata (prevalence of infection was less than 10%; and infection intensity was 4.0 specimens). Mesocercarias were found in frog larvae (24.6%; 2.6 sp.).
36
Romanova, E. B., E. S. Ryabinina, and A. V. Boryakov. "Heavy Metal Accumulation in the Tissues and Organs of Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) and Pelophylax lessonae (Camerano, 1882) (Amphibia: Ranidae) Living in the Waterbodies of Nizhniy Novgorod." Povolzhskiy Journal of Ecology, no. 3 (November 19, 2020): 336–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.35885/1684-7318-2020-3-336-352.
Full textAbstract:
A comprehensive atomic-emission study and comparative assessment were done of the content and distribution of heavy metals (Mn, Cu, Cr, Al, Fe, Zn, and Sr) in the organs and tissues (muscles, skin, bones, gonads, liver, heart, spleen, and blood) of marsh and pool frogs collected in the lakes of a big industrial city (Nizhni Novgorod). High concentrations of heavy metals were found in the spleen (Cr), bones (Zn and Sr), liver (Cu) of lake frogs. High coefficients of the biological absorption of Mn, Sr, Zn (bone tissue), Fe (liver, spleen), and Cu (heart) were found in pool frogs. The cumulative properties of heavy metals were estimated from the accumulation coefficient established. Species regularities of heavy metal accumulation from water are presented in descending order as the following series: Zn > Cr > Al > Cu > Fe > Sr > Mn for pool frogs; and Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Cr > Al > Sr for marsh frogs. The priority intake of chromium, manganese, aluminum and strontium from the aqueous medium into the body occurred through the skin. Active zinc accumulation occurred mainly through food, which was confirmed by high values of the biological absorption coefficient of zinc for the liver of Pelophylax ridibundus and Pelophylax lessonae. The dependence of the heavy metal accumulation in the muscles from the organs in contact with the external environment (skin) and the digestive system (liver) was established by regression analysis. The most important adaptation of tailless amphibians is their ability to prevent excessive accumulation of heavy metals in their body, while living in the conditions of increased environmental pollution. Our results obtained speak for the high accumulation of heavy metals in the body of tailless amphibians, determined by the conditions of the aquatic environment and the bioavailability of these metals.
37
Rocha, C. F. D., M. Van Sluys, F. H. Hatano, L. Boquimpani-Freitas, R. V. Marra, and R. V. Marques. "Relative efficiency of anuran sampling methods in a restinga habitat (Jurubatiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)." Brazilian Journal of Biology 64, no. 4 (November 2004): 879–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1519-69842004000500018.
Full textAbstract:
Studies on anurans in restinga habitats are few and, as a result, there is little information on which methods are more efficient for sampling them in this environment. Ten methods are usually used for sampling anuran communities in tropical and sub-tropical areas. In this study we evaluate which methods are more appropriate for this purpose in the restinga environment of Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba. We analyzed six methods among those usually used for anuran samplings. For each method, we recorded the total amount of time spent (in min.), the number of researchers involved, and the number of species captured. We calculated a capture efficiency index (time necessary for a researcher to capture an individual frog) in order to make comparable the data obtained. Of the methods analyzed, the species inventory (9.7 min/searcher /ind.- MSI; richness = 6; abundance = 23) and the breeding site survey (9.5 MSI; richness = 4; abundance = 22) were the most efficient. The visual encounter inventory (45.0 MSI) and patch sampling (65.0 MSI) methods were of comparatively lower efficiency restinga, whereas the plot sampling and the pit-fall traps with drift-fence methods resulted in no frog capture. We conclude that there is a considerable difference in efficiency of methods used in the restinga environment and that the complete species inventory method is highly efficient for sampling frogs in the restinga studied and may be so in other restinga environments. Methods that are usually efficient in forested areas seem to be of little value in open restinga habitats.
38
Marshall, Vince. "The chorus environment and the shape of communication systems in frogs." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 113, no. 4 (April 2003): 2275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4780543.
Full text
39
Cuellar-Valencia, Oscar Mauricio, Oscar Enrique Murillo-García, Gustavo Adolfo Rodriguez-Salazar, and Wilmar Bolívar-García. "Bioaccumulation of mercury in direct-developing frogs: The aftermath of illegal gold mining in a National Park." Herpetological Journal 33, no. 1 (January 1, 2023): 6–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.33256/33.1.613.
Full textAbstract:
The use of mercury in mining gold is an illegal but still common practice in developing countries and is the world’s largest source of mercury pollution. The mercury released into the environment bioaccumulates in organism tissues due to its chemical properties and can adversely alter wildlife's neurological and reproductive systems. Frogs are susceptible to mercury contamination from gold mining because of their high skin permeability and association with aquatic environments. However, the effect of mercury pollution on direct-developing frogs is poorly known, particularly in tropical highlands. To understand the impact of mercury due to gold mining contamination on biodiversity of Tropical Andes, we assessed the bioaccumulation of mercury on direct-developing frogs of genus Pristimantis in a montane forest. We assessed bioaccumulation by comparing muscle tissue samples of frogs and sediments of streams in an area previously affected by illegal gold mining inside the Farallones de Cali National Park. Even though gold mining has not been conducted in the area for several years, we found mercury in muscle samples of direct-developing species of genus Pristimantis and alarming mercury concentrations in the sediment samples that exceed risk thresholds according international guidelines of the WHO (1.0749 μg.g-1) and countries such as Canada, USA and Brazil (0.35 μg.g-1). Our results suggest that the use of heavy metals in the gold mining can affect non-aquatic species causing bioaccumulation of heavy metals, which can be an important threat to wildlife populations, the stability of the ecosystem, and public health. Keywords: Andean forests, mercury pollution, muscle tissue, streams pollution, sediments, total mercury
40
Riaz, MA, A. Riaz, B. Ijaz, MS Rasool, S. Rahat, and Z. Un Nisa. "Environment friendly management of mosquito: a short review." Bangladesh Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research 53, no. 3 (September 18, 2018): 169–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjsir.v53i3.38262.
Full textAbstract:
Despite the large scale use of insecticides, capacity building, municipality, community and metropolis awareness, and preventive measures to counter vector borne diseases which are mounting day-by-day, new tools are now been introducing to prevent the spread of mosquito transmitted diseases. The low efficacy status of chemical pesticides have lead to the interest of researchers in search of fresh and even more practicable vector control methodologies to be applied. In this regards, multiple alternatives have been monitoring to develop control practice measures for the eradication, observation and control of mosquitoes at larval level by the use of a sustainable biological monitoring and control by an ordinary constructive predator, to exercise monitoring and practical control measures over parasites at larval stages in environmental and eco-friendly techniques. In particular, bio-control measures to monitor and control practical practices, context predatory larvivorous fish, dragonfly nymph, frogs, copepods, turtle, Entomopathogenic bacillus, Bacillus sphaericus and Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis are beings tried in different regions of world. The available research on the subject recommends that there exist multiple direct and indirect growth factors that could play a dynamic role in prey and predator’s survival. Species controphic that have an impact on concerned eco-relation reflect significant effect. In addition to this, certain eco-relations represent positive stimuli for the control of vector borne viral diseases. As a bio-control achieving feasible agent for vector monitoring, pointing, management and control predatory larvivorous fish, dragonfly nymph, frogs, copepods, turtle, Entomopathogenic bacillus, Bacillus sphaericus and Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis are not only considered as a liberated intervention for disease vector control of practices and mechanical control cost deterrents as well. Further research has been suggested on the subject so as to find out even more practicable and effective mosquito monitoring and practical control practices.Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res.53(3), 169-178, 2018
41
Flores, Fernando Zacarias, Rosalba Cuapa Canto, and José María Ángeles López. "Answer Set Programming to Model Plan Agent Scenarios." International Journal of Artificial Intelligence & Applications 11, no. 6 (November 30, 2020): 55–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.5121/ijaia.2020.11606.
Full textAbstract:
One of the most challenging aspects of reasoning, planning, and acting in an agent domain is reasoning about what an agent knows about their environment to consider when planning and acting. There are various proposals that have addressed this problem using modal, epistemic and other logics. In this paper we explore how to take advantage of the properties of Answer Set Programming for this purpose. The Answer Set Programming's property of non-monotonicity allow us to express causality in an elegant fashion. We begin our discussion by showing how Answer Set Programming can be used to model the frog’s problem. We then illustrate how this problem can be represented and solved using these concepts. In addition, our proposal allows us to solve the generalization of this problem, that is, for any number of frogs.
42
Lin, Huikang, Yixuan Feng, Yueyue Zheng, Yu Han, Xia Yuan, Panpan Gao, Hangjun Zhang, Yuchi Zhong, and Zhiquan Liu. "Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Hepatotoxicity of Perfluorooctanoic Acid in Black-Spotted Frogs (Rana nigromaculata)." Diversity 14, no. 11 (November 11, 2022): 971. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d14110971.
Full textAbstract:
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is frequently detected in the environment and accumulates in amphibians such as black-spotted frogs (Rana nigromaculata) with toxic effects; however, the mechanism underlying this toxicity is unclear. In this study, male black-spotted frogs were exposed to 10 μg/L waterborne PFOA for 21 days. Subsequently, the effect of PFOA exposure on gene expression in liver tissue was investigated using transcriptomic techniques. In total, 754 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 389 up-regulated and 365 down-regulated) were identified. According to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment and Gene Ontology functional enrichment analyses, the DEGs were mainly involved in lipid metabolism, endocrine functions, and immunity. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of 15 selected DEGs revealed a high correlation (R2 = 0.9917) with the transcriptomic results. These results indicated that the PFOA hepatotoxicity in frogs is mediated mainly by lipid metabolism dysregulation, endocrine system disruption, and immunotoxicity. This study provides insights into the hepatotoxic mechanism of PFOA and other perfluorinated compounds in amphibians.
43
Recktenwald, Eric W., Laura K. Skorina, Christopher N. Neeb, Elizabeth A. Dudkin, and Edward R. Gruberg. "Light and shadow: Visual recognition of the stationary environment by leopard frogs." Behavioural Processes 107 (September 2014): 127–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2014.08.008.
Full text
44
Romanova, E. B., and M. N. Egorikhina. "Changes in hematological parameters of Rana frogs in a transformed urban environment." Russian Journal of Ecology 37, no. 3 (May 2006): 188–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1134/s1067413606030076.
Full text
45
Reynaga, Crystal M., Caitrin E. Eaton, Galatea A. Strong, and Emanuel Azizi. "Compliant Substrates Disrupt Elastic Energy Storage in Jumping Tree Frogs." Integrative and Comparative Biology 59, no. 6 (May 29, 2019): 1535–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icb/icz069.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Arboreal frogs navigate complex environments and face diverse mechanical properties within their physical environment. Such frogs may encounter substrates that are damped and absorb energy or are elastic and can store and release energy as the animal pushes off during take-off. When dealing with a compliant substrate, a well-coordinated jump would allow for the recovery of elastic energy stored in the substrate to amplify mechanical power, effectively adding an in-series spring to the hindlimbs. We tested the hypothesis that effective use of compliant substrates requires active changes to muscle activation and limb kinematics to recover energy from the substrate. We designed an actuated force platform, modulated with a real-time feedback controller to vary the stiffness of the substrate. We quantified the kinetics and kinematics of Cuban tree frogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) jumping off platforms at four different stiffness conditions. In addition, we used electromyography to examine the relationship between muscle activation patterns and substrate compliance during take-off in a knee extensor (m. cruralis) and an ankle extensor (m. plantaris). We find O. septentrionalis do not modulate motor patterns in response to substrate compliance. Although not actively modulated, changes in the rate of limb extension suggest a trade-off between power amplification and energy recovery from the substrate. Our results suggest that compliant substrates disrupt the inertial catch mechanism that allows tree frogs to store elastic energy in the tendon, thereby slowing the rate of limb extension and increasing the duration of take-off. However, the slower rate of limb extension does provide additional time to recover more energy from the substrate. This work serves to broaden our understanding of how the intrinsic mechanical properties of a system may broaden an organism’s capacity to maintain performance when facing environmental perturbations.
46
Dharma Yasa, Ketut, I. Gusti Ngurah Janardana, and I. Nyoman Budiastra. "RANCANG BANGUN SISTEM MONITORING NILAI pH DAN KADAR KEKERUHAN AIR PADA KOLAM TERNAK KODOK LEMBU BERBASIS IoT." Jurnal SPEKTRUM 7, no. 2 (June 4, 2020): 29. http://dx.doi.org/10.24843/spektrum.2020.v07.i02.p5.
Full textAbstract:
Frog thigh meat is one of the potential non-oil and gas export commodities. In 2011-2012 thevalue of frog thigh meat exports decreased from 4.152 tons to 2.694 tons. The scarcity of toadsavailable is due to massive hunting and the spread of red leg syndrome. Red leg syndrome is causeddue to lack of monitoring of the condition of the bull frog pond. A harassment solution is needed byutilizing the Internet-based technology of Things as an effort to create an environment, especially theright water content of the bull frog, so as to reduce the number of bull frogs affected by the disease.This tool is able to monitor pH values and water turbidity levels in aquaculture ponds through theThingspeaks platform. The test was carried out in one of the Beetle Fodder Animal HusbandryGroups located in Buduk Village, Mengwi District, Badung Regency. It was found that the pH value inthe pond was 6.5-8 and the turbidity level was 3,8-9 NTU. Based on these results, aquaculture pondsare in accordance with water standards for the life of a bull toad with a pH value of 6.5-8.5 andturbidity levels of 1.2-11.6 NTU
47
Xu, Bo, Zhou Yu Fu, and Zhao Yang Sun. "Research on the Relationship between Bionic Surface Friction Coefficient and Interface Medium." Advanced Materials Research 712-715 (June 2013): 387–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.712-715.387.
Full textAbstract:
The convex structure on tree frogs foot pats provide huge adsorption force, we can extract this facture of tree frogs foot pats, and apply on the surface of belt conveyor drum encapsulation in order to increase friction between drum and conveyor belt. But the environment underground is complex. There is always has coal particle and water on the frictional contact surface. The friction performance test was done by MMW-1A universal friction and wear tester in order to verify the friction coefficient of bionic surface under different conditions. At last, we figure out that water or coal particle has little influence on bionic friction surface, but has huge influence on common surface.
48
Schmidt, Benedikt R., Hansjürg Hotz, Bradley R. Anholt, Gaston-Denis Guex, and Raymond D. Semlitsch. "Factors contributing to the maintenance of the genetic polymorphism at the locus LDH-B in the pool frog,Rana lessonae." Canadian Journal of Zoology 76, no. 5 (May 1, 1998): 795–804. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z97-250.
Full textAbstract:
We tested for environmental factors that may lead to balancing selection and to the maintenance of a genetic polymorphism at the enzyme locus lactate dehydrogenase B (LDH-B) in the pool frog, Rana lessonae. We raised tadpoles individually in a factorial experiment in which we manipulated temperature, food level, and food quality. The only statistically significant difference among LDH-B genotypes was in growth rate, with the heterozygote performing best. Although the difference was not significant, heterozygotes also tended to perform best for size at metamorphosis. However, heterozygotes did not perform best in terms of other traits (age at metamorphosis and rates of survival and metamorphosis), where differences among LDH-B genotypes were also not significant. The size of the effect of LDH-B genotype depended on the environment, which suggests that the locus may be selectively neutral in some environments. There were no genotype-environment interactions in the sense that reaction norms along environmental gradients did not cross. When we raised tadpoles in groups, e/e homozygotes had a significantly higher body mass and developed at the significantly highest rate. In addition, there may be a trade-off between larval and adult performance: adult frogs show a different ranking in performance of LDH-B genotypes than tadpoles do. These results suggest that this genetic polymorphism is maintained through heterozygote advantage, possibly in conjunction with antagonistic pleiotropy.
49
Moore, Melanie, and Chris Bayly. "South Australia Kids for Landcare Invests in the Future." Children Australia 16, no. 04 (1991): 23–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1035077200012530.
Full textAbstract:
Today’s children are the custodians of tomorrow’s environment – and, with that in mind, an all-out effort is being made to educate South Australian children about their important role in the future of Australia as an agriculturally sustainable and profitable nation. Thousands of trees are being propagated, soils are being studied, water is being tested for salinity, frogs are being counted, kids are singing songs about caring for the environment, and country and city schools are linking together.
50
Ressel, S. J. "Ultrastructural design of anuran muscles used for call production in relation to the thermal environment of a species." Journal of Experimental Biology 204, no. 8 (April 15, 2001): 1445–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.204.8.1445.
Full textAbstract:
I examined the aerobic trunk muscles, which are used for call production, of male frogs from species that breed in different thermal environments to test the hypothesis that cold-adapted frogs should have fewer capillaries per unit mitochondrial volume in oxidative muscles than warm-adapted frogs because of reduced mitochondrial function at low temperatures. The species of interest were the cold-temperate Pseudacris crucifer and the warm-tropical Hyla microcephala in the family Hylidae, and the cold-temperate Rana sylvatica and the warm-temperate Rana clamitans in the family Ranidae. Trunk-muscle mitochondrial volume, V(V)(mt,f), was proportionally higher in species with higher mean calling rates (number of notes per hour), irrespective of the familial affinity of a species and the thermal environment in which it vocalized. Trunk-muscle capillary length density, J(V)(c,f), was significantly lower in P. crucifer than in H. microcephala because of significantly higher mean fiber area, a-(f). Conversely, trunk-muscle J(V)(c,f) was similar in the two ranid species. Using total capillary length, J(c), and total mitochondrial volume, V(mt,m), as a measure of maximal oxygen supply and demand, respectively, in trunk muscles, J(c)-to-V(mt,m) ratios were significantly lower in cold-adapted P. crucifer (4.3 km cm(−)(3)) and R. sylvatica (4.8 km cm(−)(3)) than in warm-adapted H. microcephala (7.1 km cm(−)(3)) and R. clamitans (6.4 km cm(−)(3)). In contrast, J(c)-to-V(mt,m) ratios in the more anaerobic gastrocnemius muscle of these species was not related to the thermal environment of a species, which may reflect capillaries conforming to microcirculatory functions, e.g. lactate removal, that take precedence over oxygen delivery. Mitochondrial cristae surface area, S(V)(im,mt), in P. crucifer trunk and gastrocnemius muscles (37.7+/−1.6 and 35.9+/−1.5 m(2)cm(−)(3) respectively) was, on average, similar to mammalian values, suggesting equivalent structural capacities of muscle mitochondria in these two taxa. Taken together, the present data suggest that trunk-muscle respiratory design may reflect a capillary supply commensurate with maximal levels of oxygen delivery set by mitochondria operating at different environmental temperatures. P. crucifer and H. microcephala trunk muscles were also characterized by a high lipid content, which contrasted with a near absence of trunk-muscle lipids in R. sylvatica and R. clamitans. The extraordinarily high lipid content of P. crucifer trunk muscles (26 % of muscle volume) may serve as an auxiliary oxygen pathway to mitochondria and thus compensate in part for this tissue's reduced capillary/fiber interface. The effect of potentially high depletion rates of trunk-muscle lipid stores on metabolic rates of male frogs while calling is discussed.