Prehatch Calls and Coordinated Birth in Turtles.

Hatching synchronisation is widespread in oviparous taxa. It has been demonstrated that many species use sounds to coordinate synchronous hatching, being widespread among archosaurs (birds and crocodilians). Recent studies have shown that some turtle species produce vocalisations from within the egg, but the role of this behaviour in synchronising hatch is untested.

Common evolutionary origin of acoustic communication in choanate vertebrates.

Acoustic communication, broadly distributed along the vertebrate phylogeny, plays a fundamental role in parental care, mate attraction and various other behaviours. Despite its importance, comparatively less is known about the evolutionary roots of acoustic communication. Phylogenetic comparative analyses can provide insights into the deep time evolutionary origin of acoustic communication, but they are often plagued by missing data from key species.

Genetic structure of American bullfrog populations in Brazil.

Non-native species are a major problem affecting numerous biomes around the globe. Information on their population genetics is crucial for understanding their invasion history and dynamics. We evaluated the population structure of the non-native American bullfrog, Aquarana catesbeiana, in Brazil on the basis of 324 samples collected from feral and captive groups at 38 sites in seven of the nine states where feral populations occur.

The evolution of reproductive strategies in turtles.

Optimal egg size theory assumes that changes in the egg and clutch are driven by selection, resulting in adjustments for the largest possible production of offspring with the highest fitness. Evidence supports the idea that large-bodied turtles tend to produce larger clutches with small and round eggs, while smaller species produce small clutches with large and elongated eggs. Our goals were to investigate whether egg and clutch size follow the predictions of egg size theory, if there are convergent reproductive strategies, and identify ecological factors that influence clutch and egg traits across all clades of living turtles.

Lens transmittance shapes ultraviolet sensitivity in the eyes of frogs from diverse ecological and phylogenetic backgrounds.

The amount of short wavelength (ultraviolet (UV), violet and blue) light that reaches the retina depends on the transmittance properties of the ocular media, especially the lens, and varies greatly across species in all vertebrate groups studied previously. We measured the lens transmittance in 32 anuran amphibians with different habits, geographical distributions and phylogenetic positions and used them together with eye size and pupil shape to evaluate the relationship with diel activity pattern, elevation and latitude. We found an unusually high lens UV transmittance in the most basal species, and a cut-off range that extends into the visible spectrum for the rest of the sample, with lenses even absorbing violet light in some diurnal species.