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1 June 2006 Testing the Nest-Homing Abilities of a Phytotelm-breeding Frog, Chirixalus eiffingeri (Rhacophoridae)
Chia-Te Chiu, Yeong-Choy Kam
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Abstract

We conducted a manipulative experiment to assess the homing of female Chirixalus eiffingeri to the nest. There were three experimental treatments and a control. For the control treatment, bamboo stumps were cut off at the base and reattached. In the first experimental treatment, when stumps were displaced 1 m, the proportion of stumps attended by females and the growth of tadpoles did not differ from the results of the control treatment, suggesting the 1-m stump displacement did not affect the nest homing of female frogs. In the second experimental treatment, when a bamboo stump was displaced 1 m and a new bamboo stump with tadpoles was put in its place, some females fed tadpoles in the displaced stump (3/12), but some fed tadpoles in the stump (3/12) at the original site. This finding suggests that the addition of a new stump confused the female frogs spatially, which resulted in females feeding the tadpoles in either stump. In the third experimental treatment, when a bamboo stump was displaced 1 m and a new stump without tadpoles was added at the original site, some female frogs fed tadpoles in the displaced stump (5/12) but some laid trophic eggs in the stump (4/12) at the original site, also indicating the female frogs were confused spatially. The overall results support the hypothesis that females rely on the spatial distribution of a nest stump, relative to other bamboo stumps, for nest homing to feed their offspring, and that stump location is an important cue to the nest homing of females.

Chia-Te Chiu and Yeong-Choy Kam "Testing the Nest-Homing Abilities of a Phytotelm-breeding Frog, Chirixalus eiffingeri (Rhacophoridae)," Zoological Science 23(6), 501-505, (1 June 2006). https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.23.501
Received: 3 November 2005; Accepted: 1 January 2006; Published: 1 June 2006
KEYWORDS
anuran
Chirixalus eiffingeri
homing
oophagous tadpoles
phytotelmata
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