Life Sciences Commons^™

Thermal Tolerance, Physiology, And Microhabitat Use Of Eleutherodactylus Coqui Across An Elevational Gradient In Hawai‘I, Jack Marchetti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) is an invasive species in Hawai‘i, and has spread across much of the island. While elevational temperature differences are thought to restrict the coqui’s spread, it is unclear if they have resulted in changes to the coqui’s physiology and microhabitat use as it has expanded into higher elevations.

We first sought to determine if the coqui’s substrate use and baseline physiology differs between elevations. We found that frogs at high elevation were found closer to the forest floor and used different substrates than frogs from low and mid-elevations. This change in microhabitat use …

Ohio Anuran Gut Microbiomes, Serena Hoffman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Recent studies focusing on the skin and gut microbiome of vertebrates have found how important microbiomes are to maintaining host health. Understanding the role the gut microbiome plays to host health is of great importance for conservation. Less is known about the gut microbiome than the skin microbiome for amphibians. Literature is especially lacking for local Ohio anuran species. The purpose of this study was to establish the baseline composition of the gut microbiome for local Ohio anurans and to determine whether host species or habitat is the best predictor of gut microbiome composition. Tadpoles were collected from seven different …

Importance Of Local Weather And Environmental Gradients On Demography Of A Broadly Distributed Temperate Frog, Hallie Lingo, James C. Munger

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Amphibian populations are sensitive to environmental temperatures and moisture, which vary with local weather conditions and may reach new norms and extremes as contemporary climate change progresses. Using long-term (11–16 years) mark-recapture data from 10 populations of the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) from across its U.S. range, we addressed hypotheses about how demographic relationships to weather depend upon a population’s position along climate gradients. We estimated the effect of seasonal weather on annual survival probability and recruitment rates both within populations and across the species’ range from subalpine forests to semi-arid deserts. We calculated population-specific weather variables …

The Art Of Amphibian Conservation: Linking In-Situ And Ex-Situ Populations Of Endangered Species Through Genome Banking, Isabella Joann Burger

Theses and Dissertations

Limited breeding success in captive breeding programs has necessitated the development of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to preserve and increase genetic variation and population numbers of both captive and wild amphibian groups. ART has been shown to be successful in numerous anuran species, and current studies focus on the application of ART in ex-situ populations. The focus of this project is to show that linking in-situ and ex-situ amphibian populations through sperm cryopreservation, genome banking, and in-vitro fertilization is possible, with the goal of increasing gene diversity throughout groups in order to produce self-sustaining, wild populations in the future. Specific …

Developing Tadpoles Exhibit Metabolic And Organ Size Plasticity In Competitive Rearing Environments, Emma Kimberly

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Abstract

Plasticity is the ability of an organism to respond to environmental variation by expressing different phenotypes. In Red-eyed treefrog tadpoles, Agalychnis callidryas, competitive environments induce long guts and short tails. Despite having a larger gut, tadpoles reared with competition do not increase intake when food becomes available. Pilot data suggest that this is because they have lower metabolic rates. The ability to maintain a larger gut with a depressed metabolic rate is confusing because guts are energetically expensive, and suggests that another energetic trade-off is taking place. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of The Parasitic Nematode Aplectana Hamatospicula On The Performance And Behavior Of Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus Septentrionalis), Kerri Surbaugh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parasitic infections are ubiquitous in nature, and host-parasite dynamics can have powerful effects on wildlife populations. Many species have evolved behavioral responses to infection that can help mitigate damage from parasites. Anorexia is a common response to infection observed throughout the animal kingdom. Reducing nutrient intake can help shift host resources from digestion to immunity, as well as limit resources available to parasites. Reduced feeding can weaken the host, but in some host-parasite interactions, this cost is less than that of maintaining an infection. Here, I describe an experiment aimed to explore the effects of the parasitic nematode Aplectana hamatospicula …

Community Structure And Epizootic Infection Prevalence Of Northern Wisconsin Anurans, Kayla Christine Watters

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Amphibian populations are declining globally at historically rapid rates, and while a multitude of factors have contributed to amphibian population declines, emerging infectious diseases, such as chytridiomycosis and ranavirus have been linked to a large proportion of the reported amphibian mass mortality events. Distribution and infection prevalence data for chytridiomycosis and ranavirus are lacking, and effective surveillance is crucial. This project aims to describe anuran richness, relative abundance, habitat occupancy, and community structure and to identify the chytridiomycosis and ranavirus infection prevalence rates of the anuran population at Dairymen's Inc. Wood frogs, spring peepers, boreal chorus frogs, northern leopard frogs, …

Nutritional Plasticity In Gray Treefrogs: Interactions Between Competition And Predation Threat, Troy C. Neptune, Sarah S. Bouchard

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Anurans utilize digestive tradeoffs to best survive in their environment, often in response to competition and predation pressure. In some larval anurans, intraspecific competition induces longer guts, providing a digestive advantage under limiting resources. However, predation threat can induce deeper tails and associated shorter guts in larvae. The purpose of this study was to describe nutritionally plastic responses of larval eastern gray treefrogs, Hyla versicolor, reared with simultaneous environmental stressors: predation and competition. Specifically, we asked if larval guts lengthen to increase digestive efficiency or will tail morphology change to better evade predators? H. versicolor larvae were reared in …

Survey Of A Neotropical Anuran Assemblage (Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Peru), Eric Woebbe

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve of Peru is one of the largest protected areas of the Amazon rainforest, yet it has hosted only a few studies of frogs and toads (anurans). The primary goals of my study are: 1) To conduct an inventory of the local anuran species, 2) to quantify richness among habitats, 3) to compare differences in beta diversity across a river versus a continuous landscape, and 4) to compare difference in body size between nocturnal and diurnal individuals. After eight weeks of daytime and nighttime surveys during the dry season, a total of 601 individuals were identified across …

An Ecological Study Of The Anurans In Tea Plantations In A Biodiversity Hotspot, Lilly M. Eluvathingal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing human population size is increasing the demand for resources like timber, oil, tea, coffee, and other crops. Plantation crops mimic some aspects of native habitats, and there are studies that report the presence of some native anuran biodiversity in plantations. I focused on tea plantations in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka Biodiversity Hotspot and studied the diversity and health of anurans in different habitats found within a tea cultivation area, near Munnar region in the Western Ghats, India. The landscape includes tea bushes, native evergreen shola forest patches, and eucalyptus forest stands. I reviewed 40 studies comparing amphibian species richness …

Testing The Efficacy Of Anuran Callback Surveys, Matthew S. Grisnik

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Monitoring programs often suffer from imperfect detection resulting in skewed population estimates, biased estimates of changes in occupancy over time, and can result in an underestimated proportion of area occupied (PAO) by a species. To increase the detection probability, researchers must increase sampling both spatially and temporally. Callback surveys are an active form of sampling that have been used to monitor many avian and mammal species. During callback surveys, the call of a conspecific male is projected with the intention of increasing probability of detection by eliciting a response from territorial males. These methods work for organisms that establish breeding …

Effects Of An Invasive Plant, Chinese Tallow (Triadica Sebifera), On Development And Survival Of Anuran Larvae, Taylor B. Cotten, Matthew Kwiatkowski, Daniel Saenz, Michael Collyer

Faculty Publications

Amphibians are considered one of the most threatened vertebrate groups. Although numerous studies have addressed the many causes of amphibian population decline, little is known about effects of invasive plants. Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) is an exotic deciduous tree that has invaded the southeastern United States. Amphibian larvae in environments invaded by T. sebifera may be impacted negatively as autumn leaf litter decomposes in natal areas. We compared effects of leaf litter decomposition from T. sebifera and two native tree species on survival and development of four species of anuran larvae from eastern Texas. Larvae from Pseudacris fouquettei, Lithobates (Rana) …

The Effect Of Auditory Call Playback On Anuran Detection And Capture Rates, Derek Adam Bozzell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Calls of male anurans during breeding seasons are species-specific identification tools. However, males cease calling after any nearby disturbance, including those of researchers. I proposed a variation on current methods that attempts to reduce this lag in calling after researcher-created disturbance by utilizing the propensity for competition in male frogs. I surveyed 14 breeding sites in Cabell and Wayne counties during the 2010 and 2011 breeding seasons. First, I used traditional visual encounter surveys (VESs). After using automated recording devices to gather site-specific recordings of calls of all species present, I conducted secondary VESs while playing these playlists over a …

Larval Tolerance To Salinity In Three Species Of Australian Anuran: An Indication Of Saline Specialisation In Litoria Aurea, Brian D. Kearney, Phillip G. Byrne, Richard D. Reina

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Recent anthropogenic influences on freshwater habitats are forcing anuran populations to rapidly adapt to high magnitude changes in environmental conditions or face local extinction. We examined the effects of ecologically relevant elevated salinity levels on larval growth, metamorphosis and survival of three species of Australian anuran; the spotted marsh frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis), the painted burrowing frog (Neobatrachus sudelli) and the green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea), in order to better understand the responses of these animals to environmental change. Elevated salinity (16% seawater) negatively impacted on the survival of L. tasmaniensis (35% survival) …

Invertebrate Community Changes Along Coqui Invasion Fronts In Hawaii, Ryan T. Choi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Puerto Rican coqui frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, was introduced to Hawaii in the late 1980s via the commercial horticulture trade. Previous research has shown that coquis can change invertebrate communities, but these studies were conducted at small scales using controlled, manipulative experiments. The objective of this research was to determine whether coqui invasions change invertebrate communities at the landscape scale across the island of Hawaii. At each invasion front, we measured environmental variability on either side of the front and removed sites that were too variable across the front to ensure that the impacts we measured were the result …

A Multi-Scale Assessment Of Amphibian Habitat Selection: Wood Frog Response To Timber Harvesting, Sean Michael Blomquist, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

Publications

To understand changes in habitat selection in response to timber harvesting, we used radio-telemetry data from 82 adult wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus, formerly Rana sylvatica) and logistic regression modelling to assess habitat selection in response to an unharvested control and 3 forest management techniques: clearcutting (with removal of all merchantable timber > 10 cm diameter), clearcutting with coarse woody debris (CWD) retention, and partial harvesting with retention of ∼50% canopy cover. At the home range scale, frogs selected the partially harvested treatment in spring 2005 and avoided the CWD-retained treatment in fall 2006. Frogs spent 5 ± 2 d (mean ± …

Effects Of Predation Risk, Density And Disease On Energy Efficiency In A Larval Anuran, Sarah Crane

Theses and Dissertations

Predation, density and disease affect behavior, morphology and growth. There is a lack of information on how these changes relate to efficiency of energy transfer in anuran larvae, although previous studies suggest that predation should decrease and competition should increase efficiency. Using a 2 x 2 factorial design, we manipulated predation presence and larval density to test how predation risk and density affect energy efficiency. During the experiment, approximately half of the tadpoles were infected by an unknown disease. Neither predation risk nor density affected assimilation or growth efficiency, despite changes in growth and development. Disease, however, decreased gut length …

Walking And Running In The Red-Legged Running Frog, Kassina Maculata, Anna N. Ahn, E Furrow, Andrew A. Biewener

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Although most frog species are specialized for jumping or swimming, Kassina maculata (red-legged running frog) primarily uses a third type of locomotion during which the hindlimbs alternate. In the present study, we examined Kassina's distinct locomotory mode to determine whether these frogs walk or run and how their gait may change with speed. We used multiple methods to distinguish between terrestrial gaits: the existence or absence of an aerial phase, duty factor, relative footfall patterns and the mechanics of the animal's center of mass (COM). To measure kinematic and kinetic variables, we recorded digital video as the animals moved …

Survey And Comparison Of Amphibian Assemblages In Two Physiographic Regions Of Northeast Tennessee., Marquette Elaine Crockett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Declines in amphibian populations have prompted study of their ecology and distribution. The purpose of this study was to survey two sites located within different physiographic and one herpetofaunal region of Northeast Tennessee, comparing species composition and activity. The first, Henderson Wetland, is in the Appalachian Ridge and Valley physiographic region. The second, John's Bog, is in the Blue Ridge. Survey methods included random walks, aural surveys, and point source collections during a 16-month period (February 1999 to May 2000).

Nine caudate (Plethodontidae) and one anuran species (Ranidae) were found in John's Bog. Seven caudate (Ambystomatidae, Plethodontidae, Salamandridae) and five …

Landscape Associations Of Frog And Toad Species In Iowa And Wisconsin, U.S.A., Melinda G. Knutson, John R. Sauer, Douglas A. Olsen, Michael J. Mossman, Lisa M. Hemesath, Michael J. Lannoo

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Landscape habitat associations of frogs and toads in Iowa and Wisconsin were tested to determine whether they support or refute previous general habitat classifications. We examined which Midwestern species shared similar habitats to see if these associations were consistent across large geographic areas (states). Rana sylvatica (wood frog), Hyla versicolor (eastern gray treefrog), Pseudacris crucifer (spring peeper), and Acris crepitans (cricket frog) were identified as forest species, P. triseriata (chorus frog), H. chrysoscelis (Cope's gray treefrog), R. pipiens (leopard frog), and Bufo americanus (American toad) as grassland species, and R. catesbeiana (bullfrog), R. clamitans (green frog), R. palustris (pickerel frog), …