The Herpetological Journal is the Society's prestigious quarterly scientific journal. Articles are listed in Biological Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences,Current Contents, Science Citation Index, and Zoological Record.
ISSN 0268-0130
2021 Impact Factor from Clarivate for the Herpetological Journal is 1.194, an increase of 0.332 from 2020.
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Open Access
pp. 237-244
Authors: Ricardo Lourenço-de-Moraes, Rodrigo B. Ferreira, Caio V. Mira-Mendes, Cassio Z. Zocca, Tadeu Medeiros, Danilo S. Ruas, Raoni Rebouças, Luís Felipe Toledo, Edmund D. Brodie Jr. & Mirco Solé
Abstract: The sequence and intensity of antipredator mechanisms may be displayed according to the risk of predation. We tested this hypothesis using two species of marsupial treefrogs from Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. We observed Gastrotheca recava and G. megacephala displaying nine antipredator mechanisms and three types of defensive calls. These behaviours were displayed in an escalated sequence from motionless (passive behaviour) to biting (the most aggressive behaviour). This diversified set of antipredator mechanisms may be related to the interaction between predator and prey at the local scale. The escalated sequence of defensive behaviours should be considered in future studies on anuran-predator interaction.
Key words: Amphibia, Atlantic forest, defensive behaviour, defensive call, Gastrotheca, Hemiphractidae