Reproductive character displacement in Dendropsophus nanus (Anura, Hylidae)in syntopy and allopatry

• Grant number: 12/15137-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Theoretical Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Christopher Gordon Murphy
• Grantee: Estela Rodrigues Figueiredo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Reproductive character displacement is evidence of evolutionary processes in ecological competition in populations of anuran amphibians. Our hypothesis is that closely related species pairs in syntopy exhibit reproductive character displacement, which can minimize ecological competition for acoustic space and calling sites. To test this hypothesis, we will compare ten parameters of the advertisement calls and three variables of the calling sites of males of D. nanus between sites of allopatry and syntopy with D. sanborni, a closely related congener. Samples will be taken from three lentic water bodies, in which the pair of species are syntopic and from three other bodies of water in which only D. nanus occurs. Data will be collected during the rainy season (September to March) in 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. Ten notes of the advertisement calls of 30 males of D. nanus from each water body will be analyzed, and the calling sites of each individual will be characterized for each individual. The dimensionality of the acoustic parameters will be reduced using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Each significant principal component of PCA and each variable of the calling site will be compared between areas of allopatry and syntopy with a nested analysis of variance. If we observe that one or more parameters of the advertisement call or the calling site differ between male D. nanus in syntopy and in allopatry, the occurrence of reproductive character displacement in this species would be supported.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

FIGUEIREDO, Estela Rodrigues. Deslocamento de caracteres reprodutivos em Dendropsophus nanus (Anura, Hylidae) em sintopia e alopatria. 2014. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências Letras e Ciências Exatas. São José do Rio Preto São José do Rio Preto.