Does behavioral thermal tolerance predict distribution pattern and habitat use in two sympatric Neotropical frogs?

ABSTRACT: Environmental temperatures are a major constraint on ectotherm abundance, influencing their distribution and natural history. Comparing thermal tolerances with environmental temperatures is a simple way to estimate thermal constraints on species distributions. We investigate the potential effects of behavioral thermal tolerance (i. e. Voluntary Thermal Maximum, VTMax) on anuran local (habitat) and regional distribution patterns and associated behavioral responses. We tested for differences in Voluntary Thermal Maximum (VTMax) of two sympatric frog species of the genus Physalaemus in the Cerrado. We mapped the difference between VTMax and maximum daily temperature (VTMax-ETMax) and compared the abundance in open and non-open habitats for both species. Physalaemus nattereri had a significant

SUBMITTER: Diaz-Ricaurte JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7508379 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature