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Variable reproductive strategies of an African savanna frog, Phrynomantis microps (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2011

Mareike Hirschfeld  and
Mark-Oliver Rödel
Mareike Hirschfeld
Affiliation:
Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity at the Humboldt University Berlin, Herpetology, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
Mark-Oliver Rödel*
Affiliation:
Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity at the Humboldt University Berlin, Herpetology, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
*
1Corresponding author. Email: mo.roedel@mfn-berlin.de
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Abstract:

West African savannas are habitats with unpredictable rainfall. Species with varying life-history traits may be more successful in these environments than species with fixed traits. We studied the reproduction strategies of the microhylid frog Phrynomantis microps in different savanna types, a humid savanna in Ivory Coast and a drier one in Benin. We recorded 5437 clutches in eight ponds in the humid savanna during five consecutive rainy seasons. A further 694 clutches were investigated in 10 ponds in Benin in one rainy season. For each clutch, we recorded egg numbers, deposition time, location within the pond and rainfall. Precipitation was important in triggering reproduction. However, the amount of rainfall needed differed in relation to rainy season length and total annual rainfall. Especially in years and regions with a late rainy season a threshold of minimum precipitation was needed to initiate spawning, indicating a trade-off between the need to reproduce and the survival probabilities of offspring in ponds with a high desiccation risk. Egg numbers per clutch further differed between pond sizes, breeding season length, as well as to time within the rainy season. Potential explanations for these differences, in particular desiccation and predation risks are discussed, but need further experimental support.

Keywords

amphibiansclutch sizeprecipitationrainfallsavanna typesunpredictabilityWest Africa
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 27 , Issue 6 , November 2011 , pp. 601 - 609
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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