Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Elevated Temperature, Reduced Hydroperiod, And Invasive Bullfrog Larvae On Pacific Chorus Frog Larvae, Bailey R. Tasker, Karli Honebein, Allie M. Erickson, Julia E. Misslin, Paul Hurst, Sarah Cooney, Skylar Riley, Scott A. Griffith, Betsy A. Bancroft

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Climate change and invasive species threaten many ecosystems, including surface freshwater systems. Increasing temperatures and reduced hydroperiod due to climate change may promote the persistence of invasive species and facilitate new invasions due to potentially higher tolerance to environmental stress in successful invaders. Amphibians demonstrate high levels of plasticity in life history characteristics, particularly those species which inhabit both ephemeral and permanent water bodies. We tested the influence of two projected effects of climate change (increased temperature and reduced hydroperiod) on Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla) tadpoles alone and in combination with the presence of tadpoles of a …

Effects Of Anthropogenic Light And Noise On Anuran Breeding Behavior, Ashley Kobisk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The natural environment can be negatively impacted by a variety of human activities, including the production of artificial light at night and anthropogenic noise. Recent studies suggest that pollution from anthropogenic light and noise alters animal behavior. Despite being highly nocturnal and vocal animals, little attention has been given to anurans and the effects artificial light at night and anthropogenic noise have on their behavior. This study investigated the effects of artificial light at night and anthropogenic noise on anuran breeding systems in eastern Texas. Specifically, this study investigated whether (1) artificial light and anthropogenic noise altered calling behavior in …

A Survey Of The Reptiles And Amphibians At The University Of Georgia Costa Rica Field Station In San Luis De Monteverde, Costa Rica, John David Curlis, Elliot Convery Fisher, W. Kody Muhic, James Moy, Martha Garro-Cruz, José Joaquín Montero-Ramírez

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Reptiles and amphibians are experiencing declines across the globe. In Monteverde, Costa Rica, these declines and their underlying causes have been relatively well studied since the early 1990s, and many protected areas have been set aside to conserve these species. However, thorough surveys of the herpetofaunal diversity in these areas have been scarce over the last 20 years. We conducted a survey of all reptile and amphibian species at the University of Georgia Costa Rica (UGACR), a field station in San Luis de Monteverde. Herein, we present an annotated checklist of the 48 species (35 reptiles and 13 amphibians) that …

Interactions Between Two Key Amphibian Defenses To Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis In Panamanian Glass Frogs (Espadarana Prosoblepon), Andi Levorse

Honors Theses

Research on the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the causative agent of the lethal disease chytridiomycosis, has advanced from assessments of pathogenicity and species susceptibility to more specialized questions concerning the complex interactions between the pathogen, species-specific immune responses, and the environment. Our work examines the potential for interactions between the two most important innate immune defenses of frogs against Bd: secretions of antimicrobial peptides and communities of commensal cutaneous bacteria. While both defenses have been studied individually, little data are available to examine interactions between these defenses. We conducted our study with field captured Panamanian glass frogs …

Mating Patterns And Post-Mating Isolation In Three Cryptic Species Of The Engystomops Petersi Species Complex, Paula A. Trillo, Andrea E. Narvaez, Santiago R. Ron, Kim L. Hoke

Biology Faculty Publications

Determining the extent of reproductive isolation in cryptic species with dynamic geographic ranges can yield important insights into the processes that generate and maintain genetic divergence in the absence of severe geographic barriers. We studied mating patterns, propensity to hybridize in nature and subsequent fertilization rates, as well as survival and development of hybrid F₁ offspring for three nominal species of the Engystomops petersi species complex in Yasuní National Park, Ecuador. We found at least two species in four out of six locations sampled, and 14.3% of the wild pairs genotyped were mixed-species (heterospecific) crosses. We also found reduced …

Increased Androgenic Sensitivity In The Hind Limb Muscular System Marks The Evolution Of A Derived Gestural Display, Lisa A. Mangiamele, Matthew J. Fuxjager, Eric R. Schuppe, Rebecca S. Taylor, Walter Hödl, Doris Preininger

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Physical gestures are prominent features of many species’ multi- modal displays, yet how evolution incorporates body and leg movements into animal signaling repertoires is unclear. Andro- genic hormones modulate the production of reproductive signals and sexual motor skills in many vertebrates; therefore, one possi- bility is that selection for physical signals drives the evolution of androgenic sensitivity in select neuromotor pathways. We exam- ined this issue in the Bornean rock frog (Staurois parvus, family: Ranidae). Males court females and compete with rivals by per- forming both vocalizations and hind limb gestural signals, called “foot flags.” Foot flagging is a derived …

Unearthing The Fossorial Tadpoles Of The Indian Dancing Frog Family Micrixalidae, Gayani Senevirathne, Sonali Garg, Ryan R. Kerney, Madhava Meegaskumbura, S. D. Biju

Biology Faculty Publications

Tadpoles of the monotypic Indian dancing frog family Micrixalidae have remained obscure for over 125 years. Here we report the discovery of the elusive tadpoles of Micrixalus herrei from the sand beds of a forested stream in southern Western Ghats, and confirm their identity through DNA barcoding. These actively burrowing tadpoles lead an entirely fossorial life from eggs to late metamorphic stages. We describe their internal and external morphological characters while highlighting the following features: eel-like appearance, extensively muscularized body and tail, reduced tail fins, skin-covered eyes, delayed development of eye pigmentation in early pre-metamorphic stages (Gosner stages 25–29), prominent …

Venom Expelled By Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon Piscivorus) Across Different Prey Sizes, Prey Taxa, And Snake Body Temperatures, Kari Lynn Spivey

MSU Graduate Theses

Pit vipers possess a sophisticated venom delivery system enabling them to efficiently disable prey. To avoid retaliatory countermeasures, pit vipers typically release envenomated prey which are then trailed and consumed after succumbing to venom effects. Successful retrieval of released prey should vary with venom resistance and trail ability of prey types. The effects of prey size and prey type (mice, lizards, and frogs) on foraging behavior and venom expenditure in a cohort of juvenile cottonmouths was examined. Venom expenditure did not vary significantly among prey sizes or prey types. However, lizard prey were held significantly more often than mice. The …

Systematics Of The Neotropical Genus Leptodactylus Fitzinger, 1826 (Anura: Leptodactylidae): Phylogeny, The Relevance Of Non-Molecular Evidence, And Species Accounts, Rafael O. De Sá, Taran Grant, Arley Camargo, W. R. Heyer, María Laura Ponssa, Edward Stanley

Biology Faculty Publications

A phylogeny of the species-rich clade of the Neotropical frog genus Leptodactylus sensu stricto is presented on the basis of a total evidence analysis of molecular (mitochondrial and nuclear markers) and non-molecular (adult and larval morphological and behavioral characters) sampled from > 80% of the 75 currently recognized species. Our results support the monophyly of Leptodactylus sensu stricto, with Hydrolaetare placed as its sister group. The reciprocal monophyly of Hydrolaetare and Leptodactylus sensu stricto does not require that we consider Hydrolaetare as either a subgenus or synonym of Leptodactylus sensu lato. We recognize Leptodactylus sensu stricto, Hydrolaetare, Adenomera, and Lithodytes …

High Prevalence Of The Amphibian Chytrid Fungus (Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis) Across Multiple Taxa And Localities In The Highlands Of Ethiopia, David J. Gower, Thomas M. Doherty-Bone, Roman K. Aberra, Abebe Mengistu, Silvia Schwaller, Michele Menegon, Rafael O. De Sá, Samy A. Saber, Andrew A. Cunningham, Simon P. Loader

Biology Faculty Publications

Surveys of the potentially lethal amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis - Bd) in Africa are patchy, especially in some regions of high species endemicity. We present results of the first Bd surveys of wild amphibians in Ethiopia, for two upland regions on either side of the Rift Valley: the Bale Mountains and the Kaffa region. Surveys were opportunistic so that robust interpretation of the data is limited. Utilizing diagnostic qPCR assays, 51 out of 120 frogs (14 species in 10 genera) tested positive for Bd at altitudes of 1,620–3,225 m, across all genera and species, and all but …

Leptodactylus Pentadactylus, Miriam M. Heyer, W. R. Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Adult Leptodactylus pentadactylus (Figure 1) are large, the head is about as wide as long, and the hind limbs are moderately long (Table 1; Heyer and Thompson [2000] provided definitions of adult size and leg length categories for Leptodactylus). Male vocal sacs are not visible externally or are moderately expanded as a single sac. Sexually active males usually do not have hypertrophied forearms (the largest male examined, 195 mm SVL, has very weakly hypertrophied forearms), only the largest males have a single small to moderate size black spine on each thumb. No males have chest spines. Dorsolateral folds are …

Variation, Systematics, And Relationships Of The Leptodactylus BolivianusComplex (Amphibia: Anura: Leptodactylidae), W. R. Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

A cluster of morphologically similar frogs of the genus Leptodactylus having a pair of distinct dorsolateral folds on the dorsum and well-developed lateral fringes on the toes has never been systematically evaluated by examining materials from throughout its geographic range. The species involved are herein referred to as members of the Leptodactylus bolivianus complex. There have been three names proposed for members of this complex: Leptodactylus bolivianus Boulenger, 1898; Leptodactylus insularum Barbour, 1906; and Leptodactylus romani Melin, 1941. The collective range for the L. bolivianus complex is from Costa Rica southward through Panama, extending across northern South America (east of …

Spatial Distribution Of Calcium-Gated Chloride Channels In Olfactory Cilia, Donald A. French, Dorjsuren Badamdorj, Steven J. Kleene

Mathematical Sciences Faculty Research

Background

In vertebrate olfactory receptor neurons, sensory cilia transduce odor stimuli into changes in neuronal membrane potential. The voltage changes are primarily caused by the sequential openings of two types of channel: a cyclic-nucleotide-gated (CNG) cationic channel and a calcium-gated chloride channel. In frog, the cilia are 25 to 200 µm in length, so the spatial distributions of the channels may be an important determinant of odor sensitivity.

Principal Findings

To determine the spatial distribution of the chloride channels, we recorded from single cilia as calcium was allowed to diffuse down the length of the cilium and activate the channels. …

Leptodactylus Savagei, W. R. Heyer, Miriam M. Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Adult Leptodactylus savagei are large, the head is as wide as long or usually wider than long, and the hind limbs are moderate in length (Table 1; Heyer and Thompson (2000) provided definitions of adult size and leg length categories for Leptodactylus). Male vocal sacs are not visible externally. Sexually active males have hypertrophied forearms, usually 1 large black spine on each thumb, rarely with 1 large spine and a prepollical bump, and a pair of black chest spines. A pair of entire dorsolateral folds extend anteriorly from at least one_half to full distance from eye to groin, the …

Ecological Fitting As A Determinant Of The Community Structure Of Platyhelminth Parasites Of Anurans, Daniel R. Brooks, Virginia León-Règagnon, Deborah Mclennan, Derek Zelmer

Faculty Publications

Host–parasite associations are assumed to be ecologically specialized, tightly coevolved systems driven by mutual modification in which host switching is a rare phenomenon. Ecological fitting, however, increases the probability of host switching, creating incongruences between host and parasite phylogenies, when (1) specialization on a particular host resource is a shared characteristic of distantly related parasites, and (2) the resource being tracked by the parasite is widespread among many host species. We investigated the effect of ecological fitting on structuring the platyhelminth communities of anurans from a temperate forest and grassland in the United States and tropical dry and wet forests …

A Survey Of Anuran Breeding Activity In Illinois, 1986-1989, Justin Florey, Stephen J. Mullin

Faculty Publications

tAmphibian populations have been declining worldwide, with several documented specie extinctions in the past two decades. Although monitoring population health can presen challenges, surveys of breeding choruses are relatively effective methods for assessing populations and population trends of many frog and toad species. We analyzed data from breeding chorus surveys conducted throughout Illinois from 1986 to 1989. Of the 20 species native to Illinois, 9 were stable or increasing during the survey period whereas the trends for other species were either inconsistent or indicated a decline in population size. To better assess population trends for Illinois frogs, we advocate re …

Common Names For The Frog Genus Leptodactylus (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae), Ulisses Caramaschi, Rafael O. De Sá, W. Ronald Heyer

Biology Faculty Publications

Most species of the frog genus Leptodactylus lack common names. Common names are those names used by different human cultures and societies for the species of animals and plants where humans and biota reside together. Often times common names are lacking for Neotropical frogs or are broad in scope. For example, indigenous people may have a single name for frogs that occur on the ground and another name for frogs that occur in shrubs and trees, even though there are many species of ground frogs called by the same name as well as for the tree frogs. Sometimes colonists have …

Visualizing Early Frog Development With Motion-Sensitive 3-D Optical Coherence Microscopy, Richard C. Haskell, Mary E. Williams, Daniel C. Petersen, Barbara M. Hoeling, Andrew J. Schile, J. D. Pennington, M. G. Seetin, J. M. Castelaz, Scott E. Fraser, Cyrus Papan, Hongwu Ren, Johannes F. De Boer, Zhongping Chen

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

A motion-sensitive en-face-scanning 3-D optical coherence microscope (OCM) has been designed and constructed to study critical events in the early development of plants and animals. We describe the OCM instrument and present time-lapse movies of frog gastrulation, an early developmental event in which three distinct tissue layers are established that later give rise to all major organ systems. OCM images constructed with fringe-amplitude data show the mesendoderm migrating up along the blastocoel roof, thus forming the inner two tissue layers. Motion-sigma data, measuring the random motion of scatterers, is used to construct complementary images that indicate the presence of Brownian …

Distribución Geográfica De La Fauna De Anfibios Del Uruguay, Diego Nuñez, Raúl Maneyro, José A. Langone, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Datos precises sobre la distribución geográfica de los organismos de una región son necesarios y prerrequisito para entender las interrelaciones ecológicas entre las comunidades biológicas. Esta información también contribuye a entender el componente histórico de la región posibilitando la determinación de centros de origen y el establecimiento de patrones de diversidad (Ron, 2000), así mismo posibilita realizar inferencias acerca de los mecanismos de especiación en los diferentes grupos zoológicos (Bridarolli & Di Tada, 1994).

La distribución geográfica de los anfibios en Uruguay ha sido parcialmente reportada (Achaval & Olmos, 1997; Langone, 1995; Maneyro et al, 1995; Maneyro & Langone, 2001). …

Bulletin No. 36: Amphibians And Reptiles Of The Connecticut College Arboretum, Jill Devito, Joseph Markow

Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Chondrocranial And Oral Morphology Of Pipoid Frogs, Charles Christopher Swart

Master's Theses

The Pipoidea are a diverse group of frogs. Their diversity is demonstrated in their morphology, ecology, and behavior. One pipoid species, Xenopus laevis, has been used as a model system of developmental, physiological, and molecular studies of vertebrates. My work has focused on the developmental morphology of the chondrocranium and oral morphology of four pipoid taxa: Hymenochirus boettgeri, Rhinophrynus dorsalis, Pipa carvalhoi, and Xenopus laevis. Previous studies have suggested that the Anura may be diphyletic based on the unique characteristics of the chondrocanial morphology of pipoids. The chondrocranial and internal oral morphology of the pipoids indicates that as a group …

The Effects Of Adrenergic And Cholinergic Stimulation On Skin Gland Secretions In The Dwarf African Frog Hymenochirus Curtipes, Daniel H. Gong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have been done on the neural control of serous gland secretion in the skin of frogs and newts. However, no studies have been published on the effects of adrenergic and cholinergic neurotransmitters on the sexually dimorphic breeding glands of male frogs. The present study examined the effects of neurotransmitters on the serous and breeding glands of Hymenochirus curtipes. Explants of dorsal skin and postaxial skin (containing whole breeding glands) were incubated in vitro with epinephrine, norepinephrine or acetylcholine for 30 minutes. The explants were then preserved and examined histologically for signs of secretion. The area and perimeter of …

Hyla Albopunctata, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Hyla albopunctata is a medium-sized species in the albopunctata group, adults range in size from 42-52 mm SVL (males average 47 mm and females 49 mm). The head is triangular in outline, always longer than wide. The snout is moderately long and acuminate in dorsal view, whereas in lateral view, it is acuminate and protrudes beyond the mandible to form an angle of 45 degrees over the mandible. The canthus rostralis is rounded and distinct, the loreal region is slightly concave, and the internarial region is slightly convex. The eyes are large, approximately twice the diameter of the tympanum. The …

Electrical Response Of Frog Skin Epidermis To Sodium Ions, James H. Martin

Master's Theses

Presently, the theory is held that the total frog skin potential (P.D.) is generated within the epidermis at two borders, the "outer border" and the "inner border, " which are said to be specifically permeable to Na⁺ and K⁺, respec­tively. This thesis concerns itself only with the electrical response of the "outer border" to varying Na⁺ concentrations in the solutions at the epidermis, [Na⁺]_o. Contrary to expectation from the Nernst equation, the P.D. changes by only 17 to 35 mV, instead of theoretically 58 mV upon a 10 fold change in [Na …

A Comparison Of The Blood Oxygen Capacity In Semi-Terrestrial And Aquatic Frogs, Francis Burke Leftwich

Master's Theses

The present investigation is a comparison of the blood oxygen capacity in three species of frogs: a semi-terrestrial form R. pippins, the meadow frog; and two aquatic forms, R. clamitans, the green frog; and R. catesbeiana, the bullfrog. The habitats or these frogs are described by Wright and Wright (1949) as follows: R. pipiens inhabits swampy marsh lands, upland backwaters, overflows, and ponds in the spring. In summer it is found in swamp lands, grassy woodlands, or in cultivated hay and grain fields. In winter it hibernates in pools or marshes. It has been found as far as …

A Study Of The Intestinal Fauna Of The Frog, Russell W. Schaedler

Biology Honors Papers

This 23 page thesis describes experiments conducted to analyze the different types of parasites found in the digestive tracts of frogs.

Notes On The Distribution Of Amphibia And Reptilia Of Ellis County, Kansas, L. A. Brennen

Master's Theses

Comparatively little has been done concerning the listing or recording of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Ellis County, Kansas. What records there are of the species are for the most part unpublished. Early papers dealing with Kansas herpetology are few in number. Little has been done in Ellis and the surrounding counties, so there seems to be a need for such an ecological study as has been carried out in this paper “Notes on the Distribution of Amphibia and Reptilia of Ellis County, Kansas . " The objectives kept in mind in preparing this report have been to attempt to …