Abstract

GUAYARA-BARRAGAN, MANUEL GILBERTO  and  HERNANDO BERNAL, MANUEL. Fecundity and fertility of eleven species of Colombian anurans with different reproductive modes. Caldasia [online]. 2012, vol.34, n.2, pp.483-496. ISSN 0366-5232.

Anurans are a group of vertebrates very conspicuous for their reproductive strategies, which reflect the selective pressures on the fluctuating conditions of their habitats. Herein, we report as parameters of these reproductive strategies the fecundity (number of eggs per clutch) and fertility (percent of embryos per clutch) of eleven anuran species with six reproductive modes and we correlate them to the female body length, egg size, and their temporal or permanent reproductive habitats. Fecundity showed a high intra and inter-specific variation, with species from one egg per clutch (Dendrobates truncatus) to 20 000 eggs per clutch (Rhinella marina). Fecundity was positively correlated with female body size and inversely with the egg size, which varied between 0.98 mm and 4.54 mm. Fecundity was also higher for species with terrestrial embryos than those with aquatic temporal embryos. Fertility was higher than 74.93% for all species, and there was not a significant difference among them, although the species with aquatic clutches had a slight higher percent of fertility. This work reports data on the fecundity and fertility for eleven Colombian anuran species, but also shows the generality that species breeding in temporal water bodies have higher number of eggs per clutch, a smaller egg size and probably a higher percentage of fertility than terrestrial breeding species.

Keywords : Fecundity; Fertility; Anurans; Egg Size; Reproductive Strategies; Habitat.

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