Facultative nesting in Rhinella spinulosa (Anura: Bufonidae): strategy to avoid offspring dehydration

SANABRIA E.; QUIROGA L.

BELGIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

SOC ROYALE ZOOLOGIQUE BELGIQUE

Lugar: Bruselas; Año: 2011 vol. 141 p. 60 - 64

0777-6276

Here, we report and describe for the first time the construction of breeding-stalls for a population of R. spinulosa inhabiting desert environments of San Juan Province, Argentina. The study area is located 70km west of San Juan city, in “Sierra de la Dehesa” The facultative nest-building may be an adaptation of R. spinulosa for ensuring the successful raising of offspring in different habitats and in different seasons. This facultative behaviour would allow this species to conserve energy by not constructing nests in environments and periods where the water level is more stable.