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

SANABRIA E.; QUIROGA L.

BELGIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

SOC ROYALE ZOOLOGIQUE BELGIQUE

Año: 2011 vol. 141 p. 60 - 64

0777-6276

The objective of this paper is to describe a new reproductive strategy for a population of C. spinulosus in pre-cordilleran San Juan province, Argentina. The study area is located at 1560m above sea level in the "Cordon of the Dehesa" (31º 20´ 29" S, 68º 49´ 58" W). The environment includes numerous streams with diely fluctuating water caudal. C. spinulosus carries out on the pot sustrato where it deposits its eggs, avoiding this way the dehydration of the same ones, it would also take advantage of the increase of temperature of the water in the hours of more heatstroke to develop its larvas quickly like a strategy before the climatic inclemencies, precordilleran habitat present a great daily thermal width and fluctuations of the level of water.