Advertisement call and genetic structure conservatism: good news for an endangered Neotropical frog

Author(s)

Forti, Lucas R. ^{[1, 2]} ; Costa, William P. ^[3] ; Martins, Lucas B. ^{[4, 5]} ; Nunes-de-Almeida, Carlos H. L. ^{[1, 2]} ; Toledo, Luis Felipe ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, Lab Hist Nat Anfibios Brasileiros LaHNAB, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, Lab Multiusuario Bioacust LMBio, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Estrutural & Func, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Uberlandia, Lab Taxon Sistemat & Ecol Anuros Neotropicais, Fac Ciencias Integradas Pontal, Ituiutaba, MG - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Biol, Programa Posgrad Biol Comparada, BR-14049 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PeerJ; v. 4, MAY 10 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 12

Abstract

Background: Many amphibian species are negatively affected by habitat change due to anthropogenic activities. Populations distributed over modified landscapes may be subject to local extinction or may be relegated to the remaining-likely isolated and possibly degraded-patches of available habitat. Isolation without gene flow could lead to variability in phenotypic traits owing to differences in local selective pressures such as environmental structure, microclimate, or site-specific species assemblages. Methods: Here, we tested the microevolution hypothesis by evaluating the acoustic parameters of 349 advertisement calls from 15 males from six populations of the endangered amphibian species Proceratophrys moratoi. In addition, we analyzed the genetic distances among populations and the genetic diversity with a haplotype network analysis. We performed cluster analysis on acoustic data based on the Bray-Curtis index of similarity, using the UPGMA method. We correlated acoustic dissimilarities (calculated by Euclidean distance) with geographical and genetic distances among populations. Results: Spectral traits of the advertisement call of P. moratoi presented lower coefficients of variation than did temporal traits, both within and among males. Cluster analyses placed individuals without congruence in population or geographical distance, but recovered the species topology in relation to sister species. The genetic distance among populations was low; it did not exceed 0.4% for the most distant populations, and was not correlated with acoustic distance. Discussion: Both acoustic features and genetic sequences are highly conserved, suggesting that populations could be connected by recent migrations, and that they are subject to stabilizing selective forces. Although further studies are required, these findings add to a growing body of literature suggesting that this species would be a good candidate for a reintroduction program without negative effects on communication or genetic impact. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/23388-7 - Comunication and sensory systems of the anurans of the Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Luis Felipe de Toledo Ramos Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/02219-0 - Navscales: navigating through scales in space, time and knowledge domains
• Grantee: Leandro Tacioli
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Technical Training Program - Technical Training
• FAPESP's process: 13/21519-4 - Distress call in frogs: a vocalization with coespecific information?
• Grantee: Lucas Rodriguez Forti
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 13/09964-2 - Phylogenetic reconstruction based on internal and external morphology of the genus Thoropa cope, 1865 (Anura, Cycloramphidae)
• Grantee: Carlos Henrique Luz Nunes de Almeida
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master