00700nas a2200205 4500008004100000245013300041210006900174260001600243300001000259490000600269100002500275700002300300700002600323700002200349700002200371700002600393700002200419700001700441856003600458 2019 eng d00aA new frog of the Leptodactylus fuscus species group (Anura: Leptodactylidae), endemic from the South American Gran Chaco0 anew frog of the iLeptodactylus fuscusi species group Anura Lepto cJan-01-2019 ae78690 v71 aSchneider, Rosio, G.1 aCardozo, Dario, E.1 aBrusquetti, Francisco1 aKolenc, Francisco1 aBorteiro, Claudio1 aHaddad, Célio, F. B.1 aBasso, Nestor, G.1 aBaldo, Diego uhttps://peerj.com/articles/786901577nas a2200241 4500008004100000245017700041210006900218260001600287300001000303490000600313520075400319100002801073700002501101700001801126700002201144700002501166700002001191700002001211700002101231700001801252700002901270856003601299 2019 eng d00aA new species of terrestrial frog of the genus Noblella Barbour, 1930 (Amphibia: Strabomantidae) from the Llanganates-Sangay Ecological Corridor, Tungurahua, Ecuador0 anew species of terrestrial frog of the genus iNoblellai Barbour  cJan-01-2019 ae74050 v73 a

We describe a new species of terrestrial frog of the genus Noblella from the eastern versants of the Ecuadorian Andes in the upper Pastaza watershed. Noblella naturetrekii sp. n. differs from its Ecuadorian congeners by the presence of a differentiated tympanic membrane and a weakly defined tympanic annulus, and eyelids with rounded tubercles. In addition, the new species is characterized by its blackish–dark brown ventral coloration scattered with little white dots and the absence of papillae at the tip of the fingers and toes. We provide a detailed description of the call and osteology of the new species. Finally, we present the most complete phylogeny of the genus, which confirms that Noblella is a non-monophyletic group.

1 aReyes-Puig, Juan, Pablo1 aReyes-Puig, Carolina1 aRon, Santiago1 aOrtega, Jhael, A.1 aGuayasamin, Juan, M.1 aGoodrum, Mindee1 aRecalde, Fausto1 aVieira, Jose, J.1 aKoch, Claudia1 aYánez-Muñoz, Mario, H. uhttps://peerj.com/articles/740502219nas a2200301 4500008004100000245013500041210006900176260001600245300001000261490000600271520130300277653001301580653002001593653002501613653002601638653001201664653001001676653002001686653002201706653001801728653001201746100002701758700002901785700002801814700001901842700002001861856003601881 2018 eng d00aReproduction and metamorphosis in the Myristica Swamp tree frog, Mercurana myristicapalustris (Anura: Rhacophoridae)0 aReproduction and metamorphosis in the iMyristicai Swamp tree fro cJan-01-2018 ae59340 v63 a

The reproductive biology of the Myristica Swamp tree frog (Mercurana myristicapalus- tris), a monotypic rhacophorid frog endemic to the foothills of the Western Ghats mountains of India, has remained unknown since the description of the genus and species. We monitored individuals from parental generation amplexus to the comple- tion of offspring generation tadpole metamorphosis. Surprisingly, our observations revealed that this species exhibits many previously unknown characteristics, including the first ever record of the female, and a diverse call repertoire, consisting of five different call types (the functions of which remain incompletely known). We were also able to determine that reproductive activity peaked during the late pre-monsoon season, that males engaged in intraspecific aggressive encounters to occupy and to defend desirable territories, and that oviposition took place in terrestrial nests made by females. Embryonic development in the unattended nest was followed by tadpole development, which concluded within 40 days. The specific breeding mode employed by Mercurana, which restricts its range to the endangered Myristica swamp ecosystem, likely renders it susceptible to multiple threats, which should be considered jointly in future conservation planning.

10aAmphibia10aAnimal Behavior10aConservation biology10aDevelopmental Biology10aecology10aIndia10aMyristica swamp10aReproductive mode10aRhacophoridae10azoology1 aAbraham, Robin, Kurian1 aMathew, Jobin, Kuruvilla1 aRaju, David, Valiaparam1 aRao, Ramprasad1 aZachariah, Anil uhttps://peerj.com/articles/593402443nas a2200181 4500008004100000245006400041210006300105260001600168300001000184490000600194520191200200100002102112700002502133700002702158700001802185700002202203856003602225 2018 eng d00aBody size information in large-scale acoustic bat databases0 aBody size information in largescale acoustic bat databases cJan-01-2018 ae53700 v63 a

Background
Citizen monitoring programs using acoustic data have been useful for detecting population and community patterns. However, they have rarely been used to study broad scale patterns of species traits. We assessed the potential of acoustic data to detect broad scale patterns in body size. We compared geographical patterns in body size with acoustic signals in the bat species Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Given the correlation between body size and acoustic characteristics, we expected to see similar results when analyzing the relationships of body size and acoustic signals with climatic variables.

Methods
We assessed body size using forearm length measurements of 1,359 bats, captured by mist nets in France. For acoustic analyses, we used an extensive dataset collected through the French citizen bat survey. We isolated each bat echolocation call (n = 4,783) and performed automatic measures of signals, including the frequency of the flattest part of the calls (characteristic frequency). We then examined the relationship between forearm length, characteristic frequencies, and two components resulting from principal component analysis for geographic (latitude, longitude) and climatic variables.

Results
Forearm length was positively correlated with higher precipitation, lower seasonality, and lower temperatures. Lower characteristic frequencies (i.e., larger body size) were mostly related to lower temperatures and northern latitudes. While conducted on different datasets, the two analyses provided congruent results.

Discussion
Acoustic data from citizen science programs can thus be useful for the detection of large-scale patterns in body size. This first analysis offers a new perspective for the use of large acoustic databases to explore biological patterns and to address both theoretical and applied questions.

1 aPenone, Caterina1 aKerbiriou, Christian1 aJulien, Jean-François1 aMarmet, Julie1 aLe Viol, Isabelle uhttps://peerj.com/articles/537002540nas a2200217 4500008004100000022001400041245008100055210006900136260000900205300001000214490000600224520190300230100002702133700001702160700002302177700001902200700002202219700002202241700001802263856004102281 2015 eng d a2167-835900aFirst description of underwater acoustic diversity in three temperate ponds.0 aFirst description of underwater acoustic diversity in three temp c2015 ae13930 v33 a

The past decade has produced an increased ecological interest in sonic environments, or soundscapes. However, despite this rise in interest and technological improvements that allow for long-term acoustic surveys in various environments, some habitats' soundscapes remain to be explored. Ponds, and more generally freshwater habitats, are one of these acoustically unexplored environments. Here we undertook the first long term acoustic monitoring of three temperate ponds in France. By aural and visual inspection of a selection of recordings, we identified 48 different sound types, and according to the rarefaction curves we calculated, more sound types are likely present in one of the three ponds. The richness of sound types varied significantly across ponds. Surprisingly, there was no pond-to-pond daily consistency of sound type richness variation; each pond had its own daily patterns of activity. We also explored the possibility of using six acoustic diversity indices to conduct rapid biodiversity assessments in temperate ponds. We found that all indices were sensitive to the background noise as estimated through correlations with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). However, we determined that the AR index could be a good candidate to measure acoustic diversities using partial correlations with the SNR as a control variable. Yet, research is still required to automatically compute the SNR in order to apply this index on a large data set of recordings. The results showed that these three temperate ponds host a high level of acoustic diversity in which the soundscapes were variable not only between but also within the ponds. The sources producing this diversity of sounds and the drivers of difference in daily song type richness variation both require further investigation. Such research would yield insights into the biodiversity and ecology of temperate ponds.

1 aDesjonquères, Camille1 aRybak, Fanny1 aDepraetere, Marion1 aGasc, Amandine1 aLe Viol, Isabelle1 aPavoine, Sandrine1 aSueur, Jerome uhttps://bio.acousti.ca/de/node/52593