The reproductive biology of Hypsiboas punctatus (Anura: Hylidae): male territoriality and the possible role of different signals during female choice

BRUNETTI, ANDRÉS E.; TABOADA, CARLOS; FAIVOVICH, JULIÁN

Salamandra

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde e.V.

Lugar: Mannheim; Año: 2014

0036-3375

Anuran amphibians are known to employ acoustic signals as the principal form to assess potential mates, while recent studies have highlighted the importance that multiple cues may have during courtship. Hypsiboas punctatus is a hylid species in which males emit advertisement calls and have sexually dimorphic skin glands (SDSGs). However, knowledge on the reproductive biology of this species is very limited. We present the first systematic field observational study on the behavior of H. punctatus, which was complemented by observations under laboratory-controlled conditions. Males exhibit a territorial behavior as evidenced by site fidelity, aggressiveness against male intruders (usually involving fights), and signaling behavior. We found that female choice would be operating at two different levels that we defined as Initial Exploration (I.E.) and Proximate Exploration (P.E.). These levels would be guided by acoustic signals in I.E., while tactile and/or chemical signals (considering the presence of SDSGs) would be more important in P.E. We also provide descriptions on vocal interaction between males, amplexus, and egg clutch. We suggest that SDSGs located at the mental gland may be important in delivering sexual pheromones to the female during the amplexus. Finally, our results are compared to similar behaviors described for related species, and discussed in terms of the probable existence of multimodal communication.