Horticulture poses a significant ecological risk, as agrochemicals are applied more frequently and in larger quantities per unit of production compared to extensive crop fields. The native amphibian Rhinella arenarum serves as a reliable bioindicator of environmental health. This study aimed to assess genocytotoxic damage and demographic life history traits of R.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmphibians are the most vulnerable vertebrates to biodiversity loss mediated by habitat destruction, climate change and diseases. Informed conservation management requires improving the taxonomy of anurans to assess reliably the species' geographic range. The genus that is geographically refined to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay includes currently 12 nominal species with many populations of uncertain taxonomic assignment and subsequently unclear geographic ranges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcotoxicol Environ Saf
June 2018
Degradation of the environment by agriculture affects the persistence and health of the amphibian populations. Characteristics related to reproduction of anuran can be used to evaluate the status of populations and as endpoints in environmental health assessment. In this in situ study the aspects related to the amplexus and ovipositions of the bioindicator species Rhinella arenarum that inhabits agroecosystems were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour populations of Rhinella arenarum from aquatic environments with different degrees of disturbance in central Argentina were compared to assess the ability of cytomorphology and cytomorphometry of blood cells as a hematological biomarker. A total of 93 specimens of R. arenarum (adults sexually mature) were captured during the spring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemical prroducts used in farming and wastes from livestock can contaminate pond water in agroecosystems due to runoff. Amphibians using these ponds for breeding are probably exposed to pollutants, and serious consequences might be observed afterward at the population level. Assessment biological endpoints of anuran to water quality give a realistic estimate of the probability of occurrence of adverse effects and provide an early warning signal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerturbations of water bodies near agricultural and livestock systems can affect embryonic and larval stages of anurans and negatively impact adult populations and structure of amphibian communities. This study is focused on early development of Rhinella arenarum, for which body growth, abnormalities in the oral disc and genetic damage on erythrocytes were analyzed to establish the impact of agroecosystems on local populations of amphibians. Tadpoles and metamorphs of R.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPleurodema guayapae is a species that inhabits saline environments and semidesert zones from central Argentina. To date, the knowledge about the reproductive biology of this species is very poor, and our aim is to contribute to its knowledge with the description of some important reproductive aspects. For this, field work was undertaken in an area near to Patquia, La Rioja province.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe advertisement call plays an important role in the life history of anuran amphibians, mainly during the breeding season. Call features represent an important character to discriminate species, and sound emissions are very effective to assure or reinforce genetic incompatibility, especially in the case of sibling species. Since frogs are ectotherms, acoustic properties of their calls will vary with temperature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntra- and inter-specific morphometric variation between Odontophrynus populations (Anura: Cycloramphidae) of central Argentina. Morphometric analyses are particularly important, and for many years they have supported evolutionary and ecological phenomena, and have been useful for the classification of new species, mainly to the lowest taxonomic levels. In order to assess the degree of sexual dimorphism, the intra-specific morphometric variation and the inter-specific morphological differences, we performed morphometric analyses of two morphologically cryptic species, Odontophrynus cordobae (diploid) and O.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe studied the variation of thermal parameters of Odontophrynus occidentalis between season (wet and dry) in the Monte desert (Argentina). We measured body temperatures, microhabitat temperatures, and operative temperatures; while in the laboratory, we measured the selected body temperatures. Our results show a change in the thermal parameters of O.
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