Mating behaviour, territoriality and natural history notes of Phyllomedusa ayeaye Lutz, 1966 (Hylidae: Phyllomedusinae) in south-eastern Brazil

ABSTRACT

The mating (male courtship, amplexus and oviposition) and male territorial behaviours of Phyllomedusa ayeaye are described from a high-altitude site in the state of Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil. Information related to male breeding success and territoriality, as well as egg clutch parameters, is provided, together with qualitative information regarding tadpole phenology and juvenile recruitment. In addition, estimations of sexual dimorphism and numbers of marked individuals are available through capture-mark-recapture sampling. Females bred with males within spatially clustered oviposition sites (broadleaf plants). In some cases, the amplectant couple actively searched for the oviposition site. Males defended territories from other males, employing both acoustic and physical interactions. Some males successfully maintained their calling sites over successive nights, and others seemed to switch among nearby sites during successive nights and tried to disrupt ongoing ovipositions. No significant relationship was found between physical attributes (snout vent length or body mass) of males with breeding success. Also, no influence of the number of nights a male was active in chorus and its breeding success was detected. Therefore, it is proposed that the mating system in P. ayeaye may be opportunistic. Additional information related to reproduction (egg clutch parameters and breeding behaviours) is also discussed for other species of the Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis group and compared with the results of the present study.

KEYWORDS:

• Anura
• behaviour
• Phyllomedusa ayeaye
• reproduction
• territoriality

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) as well as the Instituto Estadual de Florestas (IEF) for providing the permits for capture and collection of specimens in the field (37291-2 and 021/13). D. Baêta, V.D.G. Orrico and K. Mebert made valuable comments on previous versions of this manuscript. I thank three anonymous reviewers for their suggestions, and M. Benchimol for helping in the statistical analyses. Additional thanks to P.A.G. Nogueira, who provided logistical support; to B.G. Pacheco, M.A.P. Gomes, M.I.A. Nascimento and C.. Lisboa who helped during field work; and to Ana C. Fernandes for the identification of the plant material.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.