Animals can encode multiple messages using acoustic communication in diverse behavioral contexts. Although the anuran advertisement call might convey different messages to males and females, the role of the calling microhabitat type in intra- and intersexual behavior is unclear. We report advertisement call differences in six of the seven acoustic parameters analyzed for the Brazilian hylid frog Hypsiboas atlanticus, depending on the calling microhabitat type (water or perch). These call differences were aurally distinctive and enabled us to count males calling during the reproductive period, estimating abundance of calling males per microhabitat throughout a given night. We used playback tests to determine whether male behaviors vary as a function of the microhabitat type and whether males stimulated by calls from other males in different microhabitats alter their behavior and acoustic parameters. Advertisement calls were influenced by male body size and temperature. The temperature increased or decreased the call’s parameters according to microhabitat type. Playback stimulus promoted acoustic responses depending on the calling microhabitat, playback type, or both. Males calling from perches also emitted territorial calls and visual displays. There was an inverse relationship between the abundance of perched males and those in the water throughout the night. Our results indicate that the calling microhabitat has an impact on the advertisement call function in H. atlanticus: an advertisement call sent from a perch shows a predominant role in territory establishment, whereas an advertisement call sent from males in water might have a predominant role in attracting mates for reproduction.

Calls are important premating isolating barriers in frogs; therefore, studying intraspecific variation in calls might allow the assessment of patterns of call divergence during the early stages of speciation. Ranitomeya imitator, a species of dart-poison frog (Dendrobatidae), has undergone extensive color-pattern diversification through a Müllerian mimetic radiation, establishing four distinct morphs in north-central Peru (striped, banded, varadero, and spotted). Partial reproductive isolation exists between certain color morphs, although the specific mechanisms responsible for this isolation are poorly understood. We conducted a species-wide analysis of variation in advertisement calls to investigate whether distinct mimetic morphs show advertisement call differences. We found that different color morphs generally show weak or no differences in advertisement calls, with two exceptions. First, call pulse rates differed between the striped and banded morphs, and that difference coincides geographically with the mimetic transition zone. Second, there is a difference in both note length and dominant frequency between the striped and varadero morphs, which is also geographically coincident with the mimetic transition zone. Future work in this system should attempt to measure the relative importance of different mating cues (color-pattern, body size, and advertisement calls) mediating mate choice in this species.

In recent decades, created ponds have become one of the dominant aquatic habitats in anthropogenic landscapes. Understanding how competition between colonizing species influences community assembly in these new habitats is important for predicting species distributions across the landscape. The objective of this study was to examine competition between larval Cricket Frogs (Acris blanchardi), which are showing declines in parts of their range, and other anurans including Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus), Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans), and Cope’s Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis). Using two separate experiments, we examined competitive interactions between larvae of (1) Cricket Frogs and different size classes of Bullfrogs; and (2) Cricket Frogs and Green Frogs, Cricket Frogs and Cope’s Gray Treefrogs, or all three species together. We found no effect of either recently hatched or overwintered Bullfrog larvae on Cricket Frog metamorphosis. However, we found that Green Frogs reduced Cricket Frog survival and that Cope’s Gray Treefrogs increased Cricket Frog time to metamorphosis. Because Cricket Frog populations have an annual life cycle, they might be sensitive to factors that influence recruitment, including competition with some species. Dispersal and landscape connectivity could be vital for maintaining Cricket Frog populations in areas with high densities of competitors (i.e., Green Frogs and Treefrogs). Conversely, the lack of competition between Cricket Frogs and Bullfrogs could explain why both species are able to coexist.

Arboreal reptiles are often difficult to capture because of their cryptic nature and propensity to flee out of reach when approached. In addition, arboreal lizards often seek refuge under loose or peeling tree bark; therefore researchers often remove it to catch them, thereby potentially damaging habitat. Using arboreal cover boards, or “artificial bark,” might reduce damage to natural shelter sites, allowing repeated surveys. We compared capture success and population structure of samples obtained by two capture methods—active searches (visual encounter surveys [VES]) and arboreal cover boards used as artificial bark—on two species of arboreal lizards, Inland Snake-eyed Skinks (Cryptoblepharus australis) and Dubious Dtellas (Gehyra dubia). Two types of arboreal cover boards (cardboard and closed-cell foam) were strapped around the main trunks of trees with elastic straps. Systematic VES during the day (for Cryptoblepharus) and at night (for Gehyra) were conducted in conjunction with monitoring of arboreal cover boards. Diurnal VES for Cryptoblepharus had low capture success (17.1% of observed animals) compared to arboreal cover boards (49.6%). Nocturnal spotlight surveys for Gehyra resulted in a high number of observations, but low capture success (44.9% of observed animals) compared to arboreal cover boards (83.5%). There was no difference in the capture success between cover board materials. Using arboreal cover boards as artificial bark increased hand captures of arboreal lizards, and preserved natural bark shelters that would have otherwise been destroyed by peeling bark during visual encounter surveys.

A major effort in species conservation is the construction of life-history models to better predict, identify, and respond to population changes. Yet demographic studies linking individual, environmental, and ecological factors to survival are rare. We used radio telemetry to monitor 47 adult Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) during five active seasons and four overwinter periods from April 2007–November 2011 in south-central Indiana, USA. The study period serendipitously encompassed an oak (Quercus spp.) mast failure and subsequent 50% decline in prey abundance, allowing us to test hypotheses about ecological effects on survival. We detected 10 mortalities. The causes of mortality during active seasons included predation (n  =  5), human persecution (n  =  2), and vehicle strike (n  =  1). Variation in active season survival was explained best by the interaction of sex and prey availability along with an effect of marking cohort. Seasonal survival estimates ranged from 0.720–0.983 with female survival decreasing by at least 15% the year after prey availability declined. Overwinter survival was high in general (n  =  2 mortalities), with estimates weakly affected by sex (male  =  0.966; female  =  0.990) and decreasing slightly with colder monthly temperatures. Although ecological effects were most powerful in our study, 30% of mortalities were associated with human activities. Focused education and outreach efforts may be useful for improving survival of Timber Rattlesnakes.

We describe a new species of Physalaemus from central Brazil. It is characterized by the following combination of traits: medium-sized; snout subelliptical in dorsal view, varying between rounded and protruding in lateral view; head longer than wide; snout long; dorsolateral fold present; small inguinal gland associated with dark ocellus present; tarsal tubercle present; poorly developed tarsal fold present and supernumerary tubercles on feet absent. The advertisement call is a single note with eight harmonics lasting 0.7–1.0 s in duration and emitted at intervals of 0.6–5.8 s. The dominant frequency varies from 1.9 to 3.1 kHz. The occurrence of the new species is in open habitats (disturbed or preserved) in central Brazil.

We describe herein a new species of Vitreorana from the Cerrado biome at Serra da Canastra National Park, Vargem Bonita, Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil. Morphological and molecular data from one nuclear gene (proopiomelanocortin) show that the new species belongs to the genus Vitreorana, with a strong support of posterior probability of Bayesian inference. Vitreorana franciscana sp. nov. is characterized by its slender body; snout subovoid in dorsal view; outer tarsal and ulnar ridges with low and small, thickened tubercles; cloacal ornamentation composed of an aggregation of small, thickened tubercles, with two elevations on each side of anal opening forming a slight flap, all highlighted by white pigment; and reticulated arrangement of melanophores on dorsum. Furthermore, we describe the calling repertoire and provide data on natural history of the new species.

A new species belonging to the Scinax ruber clade, morphologically similar to S. cabralensis and S. rupestris, is described from the Municipality of Miguel Calmon, State of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. This locality belongs to the northern portion of the Espinhaço Range known as Chapada Diamantina, a semiarid region in central Bahia State. The new species can be distinguished from all congeners of the S. ruber clade by a combination of adult (size, morphology, color pattern, and advertisement call) as well as larval (external morphology, and oral cavity) characteristics. The description of this frog adds another species, and the first of the S. ruber clade, to those that are endemic to Chapada Diamantina.

The Rhombophryne serratopalpebrosa (Guibé 1975) species complex consists of numerous cryptic narrow-mouthed frogs (Microhylidae) mostly restricted to northern Madagascar. We here provide an updated phylogeny of the genus Rhombophryne, and formally define the R. serratopalpebrosa group, characterized by the possession of small, fleshy superciliary spines. We describe two new species belonging to this group from the Tsaratanana Massif in northern Madagascar: Rhombophryne ornata sp. nov. and R. tany sp. nov. Both of the new species have fewer superciliary spines above each eye than any other member of the group (2 vs. 3–4). Rhombophryne ornata sp. nov. is unusual in having fairly elaborate dorsal markings, and is unique in having reddish thighs. In contrast, R. tany sp. nov. is a truly cryptic species characterized by a combination of characters unique within the R. serratopalpebrosa group. Micro-CT scans revealed differences between the skeletons of these species and other members of the group: the pubis is unossified in both species, and R. ornata sp. nov. lacks ossification in the epiphyses of its limb bones and in many of its small bones. We give a full osteological description of these frog species to facilitate ongoing research concerning this group. Genetic data suggest that these two syntopic species might be sister to each other, but they show a substantial genetic divergence of 3.9% and 8.4% uncorrected pairwise distance in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I genes, respectively. As these species have a limited extent of occurrence, and are known only from a single location in a forest that is declining in quality, we propose they be listed as Vulnerable B1ab(iii) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

The clade Leiosaurae currently includes 18 species in the genera Diplolaemus, Leiosaurus, and Pristidactylus. It is mainly distributed in Argentina from 30° latitude south in the northwestern region of the country, to 52° south in Patagonia, from 63° longitude in coastal areas to 73° along the Andean Cordillera, across multiple habitats and including a small area in Chile. Several morphological and molecular taxonomic studies on a subset of these species have been published, but no comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis is available for the clade. The objective of this work is to present a molecular phylogenetic hypothesis for the majority of the described species in the clade. We sequenced two mitochondrial genes, five nuclear protein coding, and three anonymous nuclear loci, and implemented traditional concatenated analyses as well as a species-tree approach. All methods inferred very similar topologies. We found the genera Diplolaemus and Leiosaurus to be monophyletic, whereas P. torquatus was retrieved as a separate lineage from the other Pristidactylus species with strong statistical support. Within Diplolaemus, D. darwinii is a very distinct lineage with an estimated divergence time of ~14.74 million yr ago (mya). Based on an early Miocene Leiosaurae fossil mandible, we estimated the crown common ancestor of the genus Leiosaurus at ~9.24 mya, and L. bellii is the earliest divergent lineage within this genus. The Argentinean Pristidactylus species seem to have radiated relatively recently (4.02 mya). A combination of geological and climatic events during Middle and Late Miocene, and climatic changes associated with glaciations, most probably played a role in the divergence of the Leiosaurae clade. The diversification patterns of Diplolaemus and Leiosaurus seem to have followed a general south-to-north direction, while the Argentinean Pristidactylus may have diversified east-to-west and north-to-south. We suggest that morphological and thermo-physiological studies combined with palaeo-niche modeling analyses are needed to test these hypotheses and better understand the biogeographical history of this clade.