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Temperature and vocal activity in Hyla meridionalis and Hyla arborea (Anura, Hylidae) in Iberia. Comparison between populations at thermal extremes [abstract]

Llusia, D , Beltrán, J F , Amaral, J P , Bowker, R G , Moreira, C & Márquez, R (2012). Temperature and vocal activity in Hyla meridionalis and Hyla arborea (Anura, Hylidae) in Iberia. Comparison between populations at thermal extremes [abstract]. Bioacoustics, Volume 21 (1): 45 -46

 

Abstract: 

Vocal activity in ectothermal animals such as anurans is closely linked to environmental temperatures. Therefore, this activity can be used to measure the response of the animal to thermal changes in the ecosystems within the context of climate change. We monitored environmental temperature during vocal activity of several Iberian treefrog populations of the genus Hyla under very different climatic cycles. A comparison of the selected call temperatures between population and species level will be presented like an index of these species to adapt to the thermal changes in the ecosystems. In the Iberian Peninsula Hyla arborea and Hyla meridionalis have large distributions, including habitats with very diverse thermal and meteorological conditions. For each species, a population from the hot thermal extreme and an one from the cold extreme of the species range were monitored by new automated recording systems for three years. Call detection from the automated recordings was completed using both sound spectrogram correlation (Xbat, Cornell Lab) and algorithm-based Markov chains (Song Scope, Wildlife Acoustics). Here we discuss the preliminary results and their biological significance. The selection of different call temperatures observed within population and between species level show some degree of plasticity apparently associated to environmental thermal conditions. Thus, this plasticity could affect the response of these species to the climatic warming. In fact, recent distribution data indicate a process of expansion in these two species in Iberia. The comparison of our results with other species will help to assess the phylogenetic weight in this phenomenon.

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