Advertisement calls of the taxocenosis of anuran amphibians from Itinguçu State Park, Peruíbe-SP

• Grant number: 23/02201-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2023
• End date: September 01, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Ivan Sergio Nunes Silva Filho
• Grantee: Livia Zanuzzi Barroso
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is the country with the world's greatest diversity of Anuran amphibians, with ~1144 species. The Atlantic Forest is home to more than 50% of Brazilian species, in addition to high levels of endemism. This is caused by favorable climatic conditions and rough terrain, creating population barriers and microhabitats. Despite this, there are geographic and knowledge gaps, with acoustics being one of those gaps in some regions. For anurans, acoustics are essential for reproduction, territorial defense, and social interactions. There are several types of calls, with the advertisement call being the most studied. It is used by male to attract mates and to demarcate the space between them. The advertisement call is considered a prezygotic reproductive barrier and is a trait of taxonomic interest. With the taxonomic impediment, many species become extinct before they are described. By knowing the species in a given area, it is possible to create protective measures for individuals. For anurians, this step is effective only through knowledge of bioacoustics. Bioacoustics is also important for understanding speciation processes, community ecology, and behavior and evolution. The south coast of São Paulo state is considered to be one of the regions with low sampling rates for anuran studies. Filling these gaps is imperative given the level of biome degradation and the lack of taxonomists. Itinguçu State Park is located in Peruíbe, on the southern coast of São Paulo state, and studies aimed at communicating with the Anuran amphibians found in the region are lacking. Our goal is to describe the advertisement call of Itinguçu State Park species and to know their acoustic dynamics (possible segregation).