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Australian Zoologist, 2010

We recorded the calling activity of frogs at a permanent pond 80 km south of Sydney between 1987 and 1989, documenting the calling seasons of five species and relating calling activity (within calling seasons) to temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and rainfall. Three species commenced calling in August/September with Litoria peronii and Uperoleia laevigata calling consistently throughout the summer months and Limnodynastes dumerilii calling more sporadically. Limnodynastes peronii appeared capable of calling at any time of the year, but did not call continuously. Litoria verreauxii called very consistently from January to September. Random effects models indicated that the probability of males calling increases with increasing temperatures in Limnodynastes peronii, Litoria peronii and Uperoleia laevigata. Increasing barometric pressure was positively associated with calling in Limnodynastes peronii. Calling was not related to either rainfall or humidity for any species. The calling seasons were similar to expectations based on published information. The lack of relationships between calling and rainfall and humidity may be related to the presence of permanent water and or the regular rainfall experienced throughout the study period. Historical data from this study may provide a baseline for future studies to assess changes in calling phenology linked to climate change.

Herpetologica, 2005

It is sometimes perceived that the cues affecting chorusing behavior in frogs are simple combinations of weather variables, and that closely related or sympatric species should respond to these cues in similar ways. We investigated these ideas by examining chorusing behavior in two species of tropical Australian microhylid frogs, Austrochaperina robusta and Cophixalus ornatus. Both species have small adult body sizes, are terrestrial breeding, direct-developers, and extensively co-occur in the Australian Wet Tropics. We used timed tape recorders to monitor calling activity over two breeding seasons (October to March) during 1995-96 and 2001-02. Calling activity was recorded at three times each night at seven locations along a 550 m transect. In the 2001-2002 seasons, dataloggers recorded temperature, humidity, and rainfall, and we calculated moon phase each night. Individuals of C. ornatus called more times per minute than individuals of A. robusta, and called at much more consistent levels across nights, in a seasonal pattern that closely followed a quadratic curve in both seasons. Calling activity by A. robusta males could occur at any level on any night of the breeding season, and varied greatly among nights. Principal components analyses for the 2001-02 data showed that 78.1% of variation in A. robusta calling activity could be due to factors common to the entire transect, while such factors could account for 62.8% of the variation in calling by C. ornatus. This result suggests that weather influences calling activity of A. robusta males more than of C. ornatus males. Canonical discriminant function analyses and partial rank correlations of the relationships between environmental variables and calling activity over the season indicated that initiation of calling in A. robusta males was strongly affected by rainfall, and continuation of calling by rainfall and humidity. Calling initiation in C. ornatus males was less correlated with weather variables, and appeared most strongly affected by humidity. Calling levels within species were correlated across the three recording times each night, but much less strongly than would be expected if caused by responses to weather. Calling activity also was correlated between species at each time of night, and a substantial proportion of this correlation did not appear to be caused by common responses to the weather variables we measured. We suggest that in both species weather conditions affect the probability of initiation of calling activity, and that initiation and continuation of calling are probably also affected by intraspecific and perhaps interspecific social facilitation.

2012

Herpetologica, 2016

Animal activity patterns can be influenced by selection pressures from local environmental conditions that might fluctuate at different temporal scales. Although studies with frog species and local populations can suggest how variation of environmental factors affects activity patterns, this topic has received little coverage for Neotropical diurnal frogs that inhabit streams, particularly for subtropical species. We described the temporal patterns of calling activity of Schmidt's Spinythumb Frogs (Crossodactylus schmidti) in southern Brazil and investigated the role of environmental factors on this activity. We recorded local environmental variables and monitored calling activity from October 2011 to September 2012, by counting the number of calling males and the number of emitted calls at hourly intervals throughout the day. Male frogs engaged in calling activity year-round, despite the local climatic seasonality. There was no seasonality in the number of calling males or in the number of calls; moreover, variation in photoperiod did not affect the duration of the calling activity throughout the year. Crossodactylus schmidti showed a predominantly diurnal calling activity, with a spike in the early morning followed by a gradual increase in activity during daytime hours, and a subsequent decrease in activity at dusk. Environmental factors had varying effects on calling activity: (1) monthly activity was positively associated with accumulated rainfall and air temperature; (2) early morning activity was greater when air temperatures were higher; and, (3) daytime calling activity was positively associated with light intensity. Whereas our results do not preclude the effect of other environmental factors in the calling behavior of male C. schmidti, accumulated rainfall, air temperature, and light intensity appear to be abiotic regulators of this activity at the analyzed temporal scales. We discuss the biological implications of these environmental factors in the calling activity and reproduction of C. schmidti, and compare the observed patterns with those of other taxa of diurnal stream-breeding frogs.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2014

Temperature affects nearly all biological processes, including acoustic signal production and reception. Here, we report on advertisement calls of the Puerto Rican coqui frog ( Eleutherodactylus coqui ) that were recorded along an altitudinal gradient and compared these with similar recordings along the same altitudinal gradient obtained 23 years earlier. We found that over this period, at any given elevation, calls exhibited both significant increases in pitch and shortening of their duration. All of the observed differences are consistent with a shift to higher elevations for the population, a well-known strategy for adapting to a rise in ambient temperature. Using independent temperature data over the same time period, we confirm a significant increase in temperature, the magnitude of which closely predicts the observed changes in the frogs’ calls. Physiological responses to long-term temperature rises include reduction in individual body size and concomitantly, population biomas...

Climate often regulates different aspects of the life cycle and activity of amphibians. Climatic seasonality may impose severe restrictions on breeding patterns of direct developing terraranan frogs. We studied the influence of abiotic cues on calling activity of males of the direct-developing frog Oreobates discoidalis in the Yungas forests of north-western Argentina. Vocalization activity and daily emission pattern of the vocal repertoire were registered with a frog-logger, and climatic variables were registered with a data logger. We sampled two reproductive seasons from 2010 to 2011. We used ordinal logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between independent climatic variables and the intensity of calling activity. The calling season of males of O. discoidalis was triggered by the first rainfall of the aestival season. The species could be defined as crepuscular–nocturnal with a calling activity peak at dusk. Sporadic calling activity during day time was associated with conditions of high humidity and rainfall. Both the emission and the intensity of the advertisement call activity were influenced by time of the day, high levels of relative air humidity and presence of rainfall; air temperature was not a determinant factor in the calling activity of this frog species. Territorial calls were strongly associated with full chorus activity that could be associated with a mechanism of inter-male spacing.

Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2018

Breeding behaviour of temperate-zone amphibians is influenced by environmental variables, but the initiation of calling (phenology) and influences on calling activity may vary with species and region. We investigated the influence of the timing of ice melt, water temperature, and photoperiod on the breeding phenology of Lithobates pipiens (Schreber 1782) in southern Alberta, using automated recording units. We also examined the influence of wind speed, relative humidity, water temperature and time of day on calling activity. The initiation of calling varied by 13 days at our three sites, suggesting that calling was influenced more by water temperature and timing of ice melt than photoperiod. Calling was first observed 8-11 days after ice melt at water temperatures of 7.5-8 °C at our sites. No calling was detected at water temperature < 5 °C. We recorded nocturnal and diurnal calling at all sites; > 50 % of calling was diurnal, even on days with warm overnight temperatures. Calling activity was influenced by time of day, water temperature, wind, and relative humidity. Our results suggest that date of initiation of calling varies considerably among breeding ponds and that the time of day of peak calling varies with both site and water temperature.

Mnemosyne 68 (2��5) ��5-�20 brill.com/mnem A Note on Croaking Frogs: Plu. Q.N. 2.912C Plutarch's interest in nature is known from several of his natural scientific treatises, including the Αἰτίαι φυσικαί (Quaestiones Naturales). In this collection the author looks for probable explanations for the most diverse and often quite astonishing natural phenomena. Q.N. 2 concerns the problem of trees and seeds naturally receiving more nourishment from rainwater than from irrigational water.1 Five explanations are given. In the final causa some clarification is required for the following phrase: οἱ βάτραχοι προσδοκῶντες ὄμβρον ἐπιλαμπρύνουσι τὴν φωνὴν ὑπὸ χαρᾶς, ὥσπερ ἥδυσμα τοῦ λιμναίου τὸ ὑέτιον προσδεχόμενοι καὶ σπέρμα τῆς ἐκείνων γλυκύτητος (912C). Frogs, when expecting rain, croak more loudly and clearly for joy, looking forward to the rain-water as a kind of sweetening for the water of the pond, and as a seed from which the freshness of the other waters will increase (?).2

FOLKLORE (0015-587X), 2019

Frogs have always been related to the mythical origin of life. In mythologies throughout the world, frogs were associated with the primeval waters out of which life arose. The author looks at the rich symbolic language of this amphibian, with a special focus on its clear female symbolism – fertility, fecundity, female genitals, abundance, regeneration, renewal of life, pregnancy, eroticism, wetness/life, etc., as well as divine symbolism as revealed in the Polish and Croatian words for frog – boginka and bogińa (goddess). The author identifies and discusses past and contemporary imagery, legends, narratives, and fairy-tales, and the folkloristic, mythical, ethnological, archaeological, and linguistic aspects of frogs and their symbolism. The folkloristic triplet toads – babas – mushrooms identified during the research is presented as additional proof of the analogous linguistic triplet with bau or bo roots in some European languages. All three of the items, with the aspect of wetness as a precondition for fertility, as shown in the paper, are symbols of female sexual organs, fertility, and renewal. In the end, the author points to the longevity of the image of the frog presented next to the Virgin Mary in an interesting syncretism of the pre-Christian and Christian worlds. Keywords: female genitals, fertility, frog, frog-goddess, frog-woman, frog-womb votives, regeneration, toad, Virgin Mary in an interesting syncretism of the pre-Christian and Christian worlds. http://folklore.ee/folklore/vol77/

Ecosphere

Citation: Ospina, O. E., L. J. Villanueva-Rivera, C. J. Corrada-Bravo, and T. M. Aide. 2013. Variable response of anuran calling activity to daily precipitation and temperature: implications for climate change. Ecosphere 4(4):47. http://dx.doi.