Investigation of Environmental Changes on the Characteristics of Tree Frog (Hyla Savignyi, Audouin, 1827); Acoustic Production and Reproductive Effort in Male Sex

Subject Areas : Journal of Animal Biology

Raziyeh Alaei ¹ , Alireza Pesarakloo ² , Masoumeh Najibzadeh ³

1 - Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Arak University, 3813853945 Arak, Iran
2 - Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Arak University, 3813853945 Arak, Iran
3 - Iranian Plateau Herpetology Research Group (IPHRG), Razi University, 6714967346 Kermanshah, Iran

Received: 2020-12-21 Accepted : 2021-04-04 Published : 2021-11-22

Keywords: Hyla savignyi, Reproductive Investment, Environmental Variations, Advertisement Calls,

Abstract :

Understanding the evolution of life history requires analyzing the balance between the energy devoted to growth, development, and reproduction activities and how to adjust this balance to maximize lifetime reproductive success. On the other hand, advertisement calls play an essential role in the characteristics of life history, having a direct relationship with the activities of production and finally the success of the reproductive organ. Considering the effective role of environment on characteristics of amphibians, the main purpose of our study was to study the environmental variations of acoustic traits and reproductive investment in male populations of H. savignyi tree frog in central and western Iran. For investigating the production investment, testicular weight, and size along with body weight and length (SVL) traits in all populations of H. savignyi were studied at altitude range of 1000-2117 m. Moreover, for acoustic studies, five standard acoustic traits Call duration (CD), Inter-call interval (IC), Note duration (ND), Inter-note interval (IN), and Number of note per call (N/C) of this species were studied in different populations and temperature ranges. The study of quantitative testicular traits and traits related to body features (SVL and weight) showed a significant negative relationship in testicular weight and size with increasing altitude, while this relationship followed the opposite result for both SVL and weight, indicating a balance between growth and reproductive activities in this species. The results of comparison of advertisement calls showed that H. savignyi calls have a common structure in all populations. Moreover, the effect of temperature on acoustic parameters significantly (P≤0.05) reflected the determining role of temperature on all the studied acoustic characteristics..

References:

1. 2020. Amphibia Web: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. University of California, Berkeley (CA). Available from: https://amphibiaweb.org.‏


2. Anderson S.C. 1985. Amphibians. Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1: 987-990.


3. Baloutch M., Kami H.G. 1995. Amphibians of Iran. Tehran University Press, Tehran (in Persian).


4. Baraquet M., Grenat P.R., Salas N.E., Martino A.L. 2015. Geographic variation in the advertisement call of Hypsiboas cordobae (Anura, Hylidae). Acta ethologica, 18(1): 79-86.‏


5. Baraquet M., Salas N., DI Tada I. 2007. Variación geográfica en el canto de advertencia de Hypsiboas pulchellus (Anura, Hylidae) en Argentina. Revista española de herpetología,21: 107-118.


6. Bastos R.P. 2003. Vocalizações e interações acústicas em Hyla raniceps (Anura, Hylidae) durante a atividade reprodutiva. Iheringia. Série Zoologia, 93(2): 149-158.


7. Bastos R.P., Haddad C.F. 2002. Acoustic and aggressive interactions in Scinax rizibilis (Anura: Hylidae) during the reproductive activity in southeastern Brazil. Amphibia-Reptilia, 23(1): 97-104.‏


8. Bionda C., Salas N., DI Tada I. 2006. Variación bioacústica en poblaciones de Physalaemus biligonigerus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) en Córdoba, Argentina. Revista española de herpetología, 20: 95-104.‏


9. Bosch J., De la Riva I. 2004. Are frog calls modulated by the environment? An analysis with anuran species from Bolivia. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 82(6): 880-888.‏


10. Briskie J.V., Montgomerie 2007. Testis size, sperm size and sperm competition. Reproductive biology and phylogeny of birds, 6: 513-551.‏


11. Byrne P.G., Roberts J.D., Simmons L.W. 2002. Sperm competition selects for increased testes mass in Australian frogs. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 15(3): 347-355.‏


12. Castellano S., Cucco M., Giacoma C. 2004. Reproductive investment of female green toads (Bufo viridis). Copeia, 2004(3): 659-664.‏


13. Cheatsazan H., Mahjoorazad A., Rabani V., Kami H.G. 2005. Distribution of the Yellow-Lemon Tree Frog, Hyla savignyi Audouin, 1827 (Anura: Hylidae) in Iran. Zoology in the Middle East, 36(1): 109-111.‏


14. Chen W., Pike D. A., He D., Wang Y., Ren L., Wang X. ... Lu X. 2014. Altitude decreases testis weight of a frog (Rana kukunoris) on the Tibetan plateau. The Herpetological Journal, 24(3): 183-188.‏


15. Endler J.A. 1977. Geographic variation, speciation, and clines. Princeton University Press.‏ Princeton, New Jersey, USA.


16. Gadgil M., Bossert W.H. 1970. Life historical consequences of natural selection. The American Naturalist, 104(935): 1-24.‏


17. Gerhardt H.C. 1991. Female mate choice in treefrogs: static and dynamic acoustic criteria. Animal Behaviour, 42(4): 615-635.‏


18. Gerhardt H.C., Huber F. 2002. Acoustic communication in insects and anurans: common problems and diverse solutions. University of Chicago Press.


19. Gvoždík V., Canestrelli D., García-París M., Moravec J., Nascetti G., Recuero E. ... Kotlík P. 2015. Speciation history and widespread introgression in the European short-call tree frogs (Hyla arborea sensu lato, intermedia and H. sarda). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 83: 143-155.‏


20. Gvoždík V., Moravec J., Klütsch C., Kotlík P. 2010. Phylogeography of the Middle Eastern tree frogs (Hyla, Hylidae, Amphibia) as inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA variation, with a description of a new species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 55(3): 1146-1166.‏


21. Harcourt A.H., Harvey P.H., Larson S.G., Short R.V. 1981. Testis weight, body weight and breeding system in primates. Nature, 293(5827): 55-57.‏


22. Hatano F.H., Rocha C.F., Van Sluys M. 2002. Environmental factors affecting calling activity of a tropical diurnal frog (Hylodes phyllodes: Leptodactylidae). Journal of Herpetology, 314-318.‏


23. Hettyey A., Laurila A., Herczeg G., Jönsson K.I., Kovács T., Merilä J. 2005. Does testis weight decline towards the Subarctic? A case study on the common frog, Rana temporaria. Naturwissenschaften, 92(4): 188-192.‏


24. Hettyey A., Roberts J.D. 2006. Sperm traits of the quacking frog, Crinia georgiana: intra-and interpopulation variation in a species with a high risk of sperm competition. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 59(3): 389-396.‏


25. Heyer W.R. 1994. Variation within the Leptodactylus podicipinus-wagneri complex of frogs (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 546: 1-124.


26. Holycross A.T., Goldberg S.R. 2001. Reproduction in northern populations of the ridgenose rattlesnake, Crotalus willardi (Serpentes: Viperidae). Copeia, 2001(2): 473-481.‏


27. Hutter C.R., Esobar-Lasso S., Rojas-Morales J.A., Gutiérrez-Cárdenas P.D.A., Imba H., Guayasamin J.M. 2013. The territoriality, vocalizations and aggressive interactions of the red-spotted glassfrog, Nymphargus grandisonae, Cochran and Goin, 1970 (Anura: Centrolenidae). Journal of Natural History, 47(47-48): 3011-3032.‏


28. Jin L., Mi Z.P., Liao W.B. 2016. Altitudinal variation in male reproductive investment in a polyandrous frog species (Hyla gongshanensis jingdongensis). Animal Biology, 66(3-4): 289-303.‏


29. Kaya U., Simmons A.M. 1999. Advertisement calls of the tree frogs, Hyla arborea and Hyla savignyi (Anura: Hylidae) in Turkey. Bioacoustics, 10(2-3): 175-190.‏


30. Köhler J., Lötters S. 1999. Advertisement calls of two Bolivian Leptodactylus (Amphibia: Anura: Leptodactylidae). Amphibia-Reptilia, 20(2): 215-219.‏


31. Martino A.L., Sinsch U. 2002. Speciation by polyploidy in Odontophrynus americanus. Journal of Zoology, 257(1): 67-81.‏


32. Muniz S., Moura C., Moraes A., Galindo M., Chaves L., Kokubum M., Moura G. 2016. Acoustic characteristics of the mating call of Dendropsophus elegans (Anura: Hylidae). Herpetology Notes, 9: 99-102.‏


33. Oishi T., Nagai K., Harada Y., Naruse M., Ohtani M., Kawano E., Tamotsu S. 2004. Circadian rhythms in amphibians and reptiles: ecological implications. Biological Rhythm Research, 35(1-2): 105-120.‏


34. Parker G.A. 1970. Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequences in the insects. Biological reviews, 45(4): 525-567.‏


35. Platz J.E., ForesterC. 1988. Geographic variation in mating call among the four subspecies of the chorus frog: Pseudacris triseriata (Wied). Copeia, 1988(4): 1062-1066.


36. Pombal J.P., Bastos R.P. 2003. Vocalizações de Scinax perpusillus (A. Lutz and B. Lutz) e S. arduous Peixoto (Anura, Hylidae) com comentários taxonômicos. Revista Brasileira de Zoología, 20: 607-610.


37. Preston B.T., Stevenson I.R., Pemberton J.M., Coltman D.W., Wilson K. 2003. Overt and covert competition in a promiscuous mammal: the importance of weaponry and testes size to male reproductive success. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 270(1515): 633-640.‏


38. Quiroga L.B., Sanabria E.A. 2012. Variation in reproductive parameters of Rhinella arenarum (Hensel, 1867) (Anura: Bufonidae) between the reproductive and post-reproductive periods. Belgian Journal of Zoology, 142(1): 68-73.‏


39. Roff D.A. 2002. Life History Evolution Sinauer Associates. Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA.


40. Ryan M.J. 2001. Anuran communication. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, London. p.252


41. Salas N.E., Zavattieri M.V., Tada I.E.D., Martino A.L., Bridarolli M.E. 1998. Bioacustical and etho-ecological features in amphibian communities of southern Córdoba province (Argentina). Cuadernos de Herpetología, 12: 37-46


42. Seigel R.A. 1987. Reproductive ecology. Snakes: Ecology and evolutionary biology, 210-252.‏


43. Shy E. 1985. Individuality in the mating calls of the treefrog Hyla arborea savignyi. Amphibia-reptilia, 6(4): 343-353.‏


44. Simmons L.W., Kotiaho J.S. 2002. Evolution of ejaculates: patterns of phenotypic and genotypic variation and condition dependence in sperm competition traits. Evolution, 56(8): 1622-1631.‏


45. Stearns S.C. 1989. Trade-offs in life-history evolution. Functional Ecology, 3: 259–268.


46. Stearns S.C. 1992. The evolution of life histories. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.


47. Vasara E., Sofianidou T.S., Schneider H. 1991. Bioacoustic analysis of the yellow-bellied toad in northern Greece (Bombina variegata scabra L., Anura, Discoglossidae). Zoologischer Anzeiger, 226(5-6): 220-236.


48. Wells K.D. 1977. The social behaviour of anuran amphibians. Animal Behaviour, 25: 666-693.‏


49. Zhang L., An D., He Y., Li Z., Fang B., Chen X., Lu X. 2018. Variation in testis weight of the Tibetan toad Scutiger boulengeri along a narrow altitudinal gradient. Animal Biology, 68(4): 429-439.‏


50. Zhong M., Yu X., Liao W. 2018. A review for life-history traits variation in frogs especially for anurans in China. Asian Herpetological Research, 9(3): 165-174.‏