Artificial flooding triggers mating in túngara frogs
Poster Number
24
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Marcos Gridi-Papp
Faculty Mentor Department
Biological Sciences
Abstract/Artist Statement
Túngara frogs inhabit lowland habitats in the neotropics where the males emit mating calls while floating on water. Their propensity to call and overall reproductive biology is more responsive to the availability of standing water after rain than the rain itself. Artificial flooding can emulate the accumulation of standing water that these frogs encounter in the field. To determine if flooding has any effect on the reproductive biology of tungara frogs, we subjected females or couples to artificial flooding and compared their oviposition to that of frogs which had access to water, but were not stimulated by flooding. We housed potential mating pairs in identical acrylic containers and flooded them daily for 2-3 days. To assess the effectiveness of the treatment, we compared the number of fertilized egg nests produced by the experimental frogs and those in the control group. Preliminary results revealed that couples and individual females that received artificial flooding were significantly more likely to lay eggs than frogs in the control group. This indicates that flooding can induce reproduction and ovulation in females. We are currently comparing the effects of listening to frog calls with those of flooding to identify the effect of both variables on ovulation and on male behaviors. These measurements will allow us to quantify the influence of environmental variables on breeding and potentially reveal physiological mechanisms undescribed for vertebrates.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
25-4-2015 10:00 AM
End Date
25-4-2015 12:00 PM
Artificial flooding triggers mating in túngara frogs
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Túngara frogs inhabit lowland habitats in the neotropics where the males emit mating calls while floating on water. Their propensity to call and overall reproductive biology is more responsive to the availability of standing water after rain than the rain itself. Artificial flooding can emulate the accumulation of standing water that these frogs encounter in the field. To determine if flooding has any effect on the reproductive biology of tungara frogs, we subjected females or couples to artificial flooding and compared their oviposition to that of frogs which had access to water, but were not stimulated by flooding. We housed potential mating pairs in identical acrylic containers and flooded them daily for 2-3 days. To assess the effectiveness of the treatment, we compared the number of fertilized egg nests produced by the experimental frogs and those in the control group. Preliminary results revealed that couples and individual females that received artificial flooding were significantly more likely to lay eggs than frogs in the control group. This indicates that flooding can induce reproduction and ovulation in females. We are currently comparing the effects of listening to frog calls with those of flooding to identify the effect of both variables on ovulation and on male behaviors. These measurements will allow us to quantify the influence of environmental variables on breeding and potentially reveal physiological mechanisms undescribed for vertebrates.