Parasitological studies on helminths of amphibians in South America have increased in the past few years. Here, we present a list with summarized data published on helminths of South American amphibians from 1925 to 2012, including a list of helminth parasites, host species, and geographic records. We found 194 reports of helminths parasitizing 185 amphibian species from eleven countries: Argen...

We examined the effect of embryonic olfactory experiences on behaviour after hatching in two species of anuran amphibians, Rana temporaria and Rana sylvatica. Odorants (orange and citral) injected into the egg were "learned" by the embryo and subsequently preferred by tadpoles after hatching. The observed preferences were specific to the odours experienced prior to hatching, and tadpoles discri...

Conservation initiatives to support declining water-related biodiversity through wetland creation have increased during the last decades. Multiple studies evaluated suitability of created wetlands for birds and amphibians, but only a few considered species associations that might also affect outcome. Using joint distribution models, we explored birds, amphibians fish in 52 Sweden. As most these...

1. The amphibian ancestor had two gas exchangers, one working in water and one in air. It also ventilated the aerial exchanger in an intermittent fashion. The functional repercussions of thie ancestry can be seen in all amphibians and reptiles. 2. During periods of apnoea, which almost all amphibians and reptiles show in their breathing patterns, there are variable fluctuations in lung and arte...

Amphibians are thought to be unable to disperse over ocean barriers because they do not tolerate the osmotic stress of salt water. Their distribution patterns have therefore generally been explained by vicariance biogeography. Here, we present compelling evidence for overseas dispersal of frogs in the Indian Ocean region based on the discovery of two endemic species on Mayotte. This island belo...

Small freshwater ponds host diverse and vulnerable biotic assemblages but relatively few conspicuous, specially protected taxa. In Europe, the amphibians Triturus cristatus and Pelobates fuscus are among a few species whose populations have been successfully restored using pond restoration and management activities at the landscape scale. In this study, we explored whether the ponds constructed...

BACKGROUND We evaluated the direct and indirect influence of climate, land use, phylogenetic structure, species richness and endemism on the distribution of New World threatened amphibians. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We used the WWF's New World ecoregions, the WWFs amphibian distributional data and the IUCN Red List Categories to obtain the number of threatened species per ecoregion. We a...

The role of facilities and associated services for amphibians has recently undergone diversification. Amphibians traditionally used as research models adjust well to captivity and thrive with established husbandry techniques. However, it is now necessary to maintain hundreds of novel amphibian species in captive breeding, conservation research, and biomedical research programs. These diverse sp...

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of drought and wildfire. Aquatic and moisture-sensitive species, such as amphibians, may be particularly vulnerable to these modified disturbance regimes because large wildfires often occur during extended droughts and thus may compound environmental threats. However, understanding of the effects of wildfires on amphibians in for...