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Evolutionary and adaptive aspects of parental care in foam-nesting frogs (Leptodactylidae)

Grant number: 24/01024-5
Support Opportunities:Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
Start date: July 01, 2024
Status:Discontinued
Field of knowledge:Biological Sciences - Ecology
Principal Investigator:Luis Felipe de Toledo Ramos Pereira
Grantee:Juan Fernando Cuestas Carrillo
Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
Associated scholarship(s):25/01119-9 - CONVERGENT NEURAL EXPRESSION DURING PARENTAL CARE IN THREE NEOTROPICAL FROG SPECIES, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

A particular feature of the reproduction of some organisms is parental care, considered an evolutionary advantage for increasing offspring survival. Parental care behaviors have been described in insects, arachnids, fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals. Despite being better known in groups such as birds and mammals, parental care in amphibians presents a wide variety of behaviors. Within the foam-nesting frog family (Leptodactylidae), care may include egg care, tadpole care, and feeding. In particular, during care, some species undergo changes in the architecture and chemical composition of the skin. Despite the current knowledge about parental care in the Leptodactylidae family, some aspects remain unexplored. For example, the evolution of parental care in the family has been studied only indirectly, skin adaptations for parental care are known only for L. podicipinus, and finally, the brain activity during parental care in Leptodactylus species is unknown. In this context, I intend with this project to study various evolutionary and adaptive aspects of parental care in the Leptodactylidae family. I expect to understand the evolution of different types of parental care in the genus Leptodactylus through a comparative phylogenetic analysis and the reconstruction of the ancestral character. Additionally, I will study the structural adaptations of the skin of L. macrosternum for parental care and its chemical differences, to extend the known adaptations in L. podicipinus to a species of the L. latrans group. Finally, I pretend to identify the "upregulated" genes in the brain of L. podicipinus during parental care and their functions, which may keep parental care behaviors active in the attending females.

News published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the scholarship:
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Scientific publications
(The scientific publications listed on this page originate from the Web of Science or SciELO databases. Their authors have cited FAPESP grant or fellowship project numbers awarded to Principal Investigators or Fellowship Recipients, whether or not they are among the authors. This information is collected automatically and retrieved directly from those bibliometric databases.)
CARRILLO, JUAN F. C.; ORTEGA, ZAIDA; SANTANA, DIEGO J.; PRADO, CYNTHIA P. A.. Mother Chemical Stimulus and Aggregation Behaviour of Tadpoles in a Neotropical Foam-Nesting Frog. AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, v. 50, n. 4, p. 5-pg., . (21/10639-5, 24/01024-5)