Dehydration Hardly Slows Hopping Toads (Rhinella granulosa) from Xeric and Mesic Environments

Autor(es)

Prates, Ivan ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Angilleta, Jr., Michael J. ^[4] ; Wilson, Robbie S. ^[5] ; Niehaus, Amanda C. ^[5] ; Navas, Carlos A. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Fisiol, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] CUNY, City Coll, Dept Biol, New York, NY 10031 - USA

^[3] CUNY, Grad Ctr, New York, NY 10031 - USA

^[4] Arizona State Univ, Sch Life Sci, Tempe, AZ 85287 - USA

^[5] Univ Queensland, Sch Biol Sci, St Lucia, Qld 4072 - Australia

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ZOOLOGY; v. 86, n. 4, p. 451-457, JUL-AUG 2013.
• Citações Web of Science: 8

Resumo

The locomotor capacity of amphibians depends strongly on temperature and hydration. Understanding the potential interactions between these variables remains an important challenge because temperature and water availability covary strongly in natural environments. We explored the effects of temperature and hydration on the hopping speeds of Rhinella granulosa, a small toad from the semiarid Caatinga and the Atlantic Rain Forest in Brazil. We asked whether thermal and hydric states interact to determine performance and whether toads from the Caatinga differ from their conspecifics from the Atlantic Forest. Both dehydration and cooling impaired hopping speed, but effects were independent of one another. In comparison to performances of other anurans, the performance of R. granulosa was far less sensitive to dehydration. Consequently, dehydrated members of this species may be able to sustain performance through high body temperatures, which agrees with the exceptional heat tolerance of this species. Surprisingly, toads from both the Caatinga and the Atlantic Forest were relatively insensitive to dehydration. This observation suggests that migration or gene flow between toads from the forest and those from a drier region occurred or that toads from a dry region colonized the forest secondarily. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 06/52491-4 - Relações hídricas em Bufo (Anura: Bufonidae): participação de aspectos fisiológicos e comportamentais em espécies de Caatinga e Mata Atlântica
• Beneficiário: Ivan Prates
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 03/01577-8 - Causas e correlações da variação fisiológica: papel dos gradientes ambientais e comportamentais em diferentes níveis de organização
• Beneficiário: Carlos Arturo Navas Iannini
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático