Macroecology and macroevolution of visual displays in anuran amphibians

• Grant number: 21/10039-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2022
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Cinthia Aguirre Brasileiro
• Grantee: Leonardo Matheus Servino
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/01785-3 - Trait-dependent dispersal in neotropical torrent frogs (Anura: Hylodidae), BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Animal communication is defined by sending encoded signals from a sender to a receiver. The most studied modalities of animal communication are acoustic and visual displays. In anuran amphibians, the study of acoustics is established, as it occurs in most species. However, visual displays have frequently been recorded recently. This behaviour has been recorded in agonistic contexts such as intrasexual competition; and reproductive, such as mate attraction. This project aims to understand the global patterns of diversity in visual displays and which factors are involved in the evolution of this behaviour in anuran amphibians from two approaches. 1. It is proposed that communication in anuran amphibians is more complex in the tropical region, as it encompasses greater availability of microhabitats, in places of high richness and phylogenetic diversity. Here, we propose to study the diversity and complexity of visual displays in anuran amphibians, and how environmental factors (e.g. precipitation and vegetation complexity) are related to the species distribution that exhibit this behaviour. 2. Diurnal amphibians located in noisy environments such as streams and waterfalls perform visual displays. It is proposed that the evolution of this behaviour in this environment occurs in response to the light availability, and as an alternative strategy to acoustic communication, which suffers from noise interference. This step proposes to assess whether the habitat structure and the habit are associated with the evolution of visual displays in anuran amphibians.