Differential response to abiotic conditions, predation risk, and competition determine breeding site selection by two anuran species

Abstract

Sympatry of species has been a central debate in ecology for decades but the mechanisms that allow coexistence are still heatedly disputed. The main paradigms include the importance of abiotic conditions, predation risk, and competition as determinants of community structure. In this study, we investigated oviposition-site selection of two anuran species, Asiatic toads (Bufo gargarizans) and dark-spotted frogs (Pelophylax nigromaculata), which coexist in southwestern China. We sampled the abiotic and biotic attributes of 36 B. gargarizans breeding sites and 34 adjacent unused sites, and 30 P. Nigromaculata spawning sites and 36 nearby unused sites. Our results showed that these two anuran species differed in the use of the main habitat types. B. gargarizans selected larger spawning sites with low levels of disturbance, high dissolved oxygen content, and the presence of fish. Conversely, P. nigromaculata preferred smaller waterbodies that were shallow, clear, and free of fish and B. gargarizans tadpoles. We conclude that differential habitat use and differences in response to abiotic conditions, predation risk, and competition, contributes to facilitating local coexistence and high species diversity in pond communities.

Sperm morphology and testicular histology of the polyandric species Leptodactylus podicipinus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from an urban environment

“…Therefore, environmental factors, such as the low humidity in the post‐rainy season, cannot be excluded from the influences capable of shaping sperm morphology (Pucci et al, 2020; Zeng et al, 2014). Many studies have reported reproductive responses in anuran species related to the environment, such as spermatogenesis influenced by temperature and humidity (Chaves, Moura, et al, 2017; Rastogi, 1976), the selection of breeding sites based on abiotic conditions (Yu & Guo, 2013), and species from different fertilization environments presenting unique sperm morphology (Pucci et al, 2020).…”

Relationship between anuran larvae occurrence and aquatic environment in septentrional east Palearctic landscapes

“…Amphibian species, however, rely on different mechanisms to cope with aquatic environments and show varying degrees of tolerance (Hopkins and Brodie Jr. 2015), with variables, such as water chemistry (Viertel 1999), dissolved oxygen (Yu and Guo 2013), total dissolved solids (Browne et al 2009) and water temperature (Indermaur et al 2010), having different impacts on species. For instance, some species have a greater osmotic tolerance to brackish habitats (Wu et al 2014), with larvae of species, such as Bufotes viridis, found in brackish water bodies with salinity up to 25 ppt (Katz 1973).…”