How to translate text using browser tools
1 May 2007 The Ecology of Male Egg Attendance in an Arboreal Breeding Frog, Chirixalus eiffingeri (Anura: Rhacophoridae), from Taiwan
Yi-Huey Chen, Hon-Tsen Yu, Yeong-Choy Kam
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Field observations were conducted on egg attendance in Chirixalus eiffingeri from April to August 2003. Parental attendance during embryonic development was performed exclusively by males. The frequency of egg attendance was low (27%), but it had a distinct diel pattern in which males were observed to attend eggs more frequently at night than during the day. Attendance frequency significantly decreased with increasing developmental stage of the embryos, but it was not statistically significantly related to clutch size. Field observations confirmed that male frogs actively moisten egg clutches using their ventral surfaces, presumably to prevent desiccation of egg clutches. The non-significant relationship between hatching success and frequency of egg attendance suggests that embryonic survival of C. eiffingeri is more than a function of egg attendance, and ecological and environmental factors, such as climate and characteristics of microhabitats, may also influence the survivorship of the embryos.

Yi-Huey Chen, Hon-Tsen Yu, and Yeong-Choy Kam "The Ecology of Male Egg Attendance in an Arboreal Breeding Frog, Chirixalus eiffingeri (Anura: Rhacophoridae), from Taiwan," Zoological Science 24(5), 434-440, (1 May 2007). https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.24.434
Received: 9 March 2006; Accepted: 1 December 2006; Published: 1 May 2007
KEYWORDS
anuran
brooding
Chirixalus eiffingeri
egg attendance
Parental care
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top