Hearing sensibility of rheophilic frogs from Hylodidae family

• Grant number: 22/08274-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2023
• End date: April 08, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Luis Felipe de Toledo Ramos Pereira
• Grantee: Fernanda Paiva Silva Pinto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/10831-9 - Exploring the auditory aspects of South American frogs by physiological and morphological methods, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Hylodidae is a family of rheophilic frogs from the Atlantic Forest that can be separated into the voiceless (Megaelosia and Phantasmarana) and the vocally active (Crossodactylus and Hylodes) genera, with the latter group being able to emit advertisement calls. Vocally active species also tend to show larger diameter of the tympanic membrane (DTM) in relation to their snout-vent length (SVL) than voiceless species. The shrunken relative DTM of voiceless hylodids also contrasts with the positive association between tympanic area and SVL found in other anurans. Although the positive correlation between auditory sensitivity and tympanic area has been demonstrated, the existence or not of this association in Hylodidae remains unexplored. We aimed to investigate whether the hearing of vocally active hylodid species has spectral correspondence with their vocalizations; whether the auditory sensitivity of vocally active species is linked to their acoustic and morphometric parameters; whether voiceless species exhibit auditory sensitivity; and if there is an association between species auditory sensitivity and the diameters of their tympanic membranes. We hypothesized that vocally active species have tonal hearing with their calls; that the hearing of vocally active species is associated with acoustic and morphometric characteristics; that voiceless species are deaf; and that the tympanum reduction decreases auditory sensitivity in Hylodidae. This study will contribute to improve our understanding on animal hearing in Atlantic Forest species.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DENA, SIMONE; ZORNOSA-TORRES, CAMILA; BOVOLON, JOAO PEDRO; PAIVA, FERNANDA; MACHADO, THAYNARA MENDES; DO PRADO, JOELMA SANTOS; ERNETTI, JULIA R.; CARRASCO-MEDINA, ANDRES SANTIAGO; DE ASSIS, CLODOALDO LOPES; MARINHO, RAYANNE VAZ DE MELLO; et al. Audiovisual collections safeguard undescribed calls: description of anuran vocalisations based on recordings from a public sound library. BIOACOUSTICS-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SOUND AND ITS RECORDING, v. 33, n. 5, p. 32-pg., 2024-08-05. (20/02994-7, 16/25358-3, 22/08274-1, 22/11096-8)