Parental behavior of frogs

PRESENTED BY:
ADITI SINGH
B.Tech (BIOTECH)
V Semester
Roll No.:4

FROGS-Basic Facts
 Frogs – amphibian - lay their eggs in water.
 Eggs → Tadpoles → Adult Frogs
 widely distributed- ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions
- greatest concentration - found in tropical rainforests.
 approx. 4,800 recorded species - over 85% extant amphibian
species.
 Tadpoles look more like fish than frogs, they have long finned
tails and breathe through gills.
 Although frogs live on land their habitat must be near swamps,
ponds or in a damp place. This is because they will die if their
skin dries out.
 Instead of drinking water, frogs soak it into their body through
their skin.
 breathe through their nostrils while also absorbing about half
the air they need through their skin.
 use their sticky, muscular tongue to catch and swallow food.
SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Amphibia
Clade Salientia
Order Anura

FROGS - PARENTAL BEHAVIOR
 Parental Care – Behavior exhibited by a parent towards its offspring – increases the
change of its survival.
 Parental care – reported in only 10% of the species.
 Among Amphibians, Parental care includes:
 Attendance and protection of eggs and/or larvae
 Transportation of eggs and/or larvae
 Direct nursing of larvae
 In Amphibians, however, compared with salamanders and caecilians , a greater
number of frogs have males in the attendance of eggs and/or larve.

Diversity : a)Protection by making nests
 In Hyperolius obstetricans, females remains
with eggs on leaves overhanging streams. Upon
hatching, they kick their tadpoles out of jelly.
 Phrynodon sandersoni (females) –attends eggs
on leaves of bushes at night.
 In Chiromantis Xerampelina (females) –
moistens arboreal foam nest.
 Male attendance occurs in some species of
Eletherodactylus ,of which E.coqui and
E.hedricki are territorial.

 Rhacophorus malabaricus lay eggs on the
branches or tree leaves –hanging over the
pond- larvae fall into undergoing
metamorphosis
 Rhacophorus schlegeli make burrow in moist
soil at pond edge – also make an exit tunnel
into the pond; hole –filled with foam-females
lay eggs;larvae developed –carried out by
liquid from the foam through exit tunnels into
the pond.
 Hyla nebulosa –lays eggs in nest(dry leaves).
Eggs → small adults (larval form -absent)
 Hyla resinfectris - makes use of holes in trees
– line the hole of tree trunk with beewax from
bee comb. Females lay eggs in these holes
when filled with rain water.

 Centrolenella colymbiphyllum and C.valerioi are sympatric in Costa Rica.
Centrolenella colymbiphyllum (males)– attend egg clutches - on undersides of
leaves only at night . C.valerioi (males)– remains with eggs night and day.
No. of
clutches
% loss in
eggs
C. valerioi 112 7%
C.
Colymbiphyllum
152 23%

… apart from above illustrated
various above parental caring
methods …
b)Direct nursing..
 Pipa Carvalhoi(female) – eggs carried on dorsum.
 Australian myobactrachids(females) of genus
Rheobatrachus - eggs and larvae – developed in
stomach; young froglets emerge out from the mouth –
Gastric brooding.
 European Alytes (males) - during oviposition,strings
of eggs – adhere to hindlimbs – periodically enters into
pond water – hatchlings released .
 Hemiphractine hylids (females)- some eggs – present
in Dorsal pouch (see FIG-A);others adherent to
Dorsum(see FIG-B)

 Buccal brooding/mouth brooding – In Leptopelis
brevirostris (females) and Rhinoderma darwinii
(males) (commonly k.a Darwin’s frog.) – fertilized eggs
transferred to vocal sacs –developed new frogs jump out
from parent’s mouth.
 Dendrabates auratus (males) and Colosthetus
subpunctatus (males) carrying tadpoles externally.
 Gastrotheca -special pouch in skin – fertilized eggs are
stored – undergo development.

CONCLUSION
 Parental Care – occurs 10-15% in anurans : frogs exhibiting
the greatest diversity.
 Frogs: lay eggs in water/land or abandon them;
 Others exhibit parental care such as:
 Attendance + protection of eggs and/or larvae
 Transportation
 Juveniles/Direct nursing
 Putative benefits includes protection from :
 Predators, desiccations
 From fungus and other pathogens
 Aeration of eggs
 Provision of foods to the larvae(in some species)
 Enhancing survival of eggs and larvae.
 Parental cost includes:
 Physical risks
 Energetic costs
 Decreased opprtunities for future reproduction

 Lastly, Sources of embryonic and larval mortalities need to be carefully investigated.
INVESTIGATED
INFORMATION
+
DATA ON ENERGETIC &
REPRODUCTIVE COSTS
OF PARENTAL CARE
NEW INSIGHTS INTO
RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN :
Reproductive modes
Parental Behavior
Mating systems in frogs
providing

bibliography
 Books referred:
 Kentwood D.Wells(ed.)(2007).The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians.Chicago:The
University of Chicago Press.
 William E.Duellman(ed.)(1986).Biology of Amphibians.New York:McGrew-Hill
Professional Publishing and Co.
 Sites referred:
 www.lefo.net/documents/main/3klass/1kala/interesting_fact_about_frogs.html
 www.defenders.org/frogs/basic-facts
 www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-frogs-180947089
 animals.about.com/od/frogstoads/a/tenfactsfrogs.html
 www.biozoomer.com/2011/11/parental-care-amphibians.html?m=1
 www.biodiversitylab.org
 frogblogmanchester.fileswordpress.com

Parental behavior of frogs

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Parental behavior of frogs