Gondim, Patricia De M. , Rodrigues, Joao Fabricio M. , Cascon, Paulo
2020-08-01 HERPETOLOGICAL CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY 2020 15(卷), 2(期), (354-366页)
The influence of anthropogenic disturbance on anurans can be identified by fluctuating asymmetry (i.e., small random deviations from perfect symmetry), and by organosomatic indices (i.e., relative weights of the internal organs in relation to total body weight). The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of environmental stress caused by agricultural activities in Leptodactylas macrosternum (Miranda's White-lipped Frog) and Scinax x-signatus (Venezuela Snouted Treefrog) populations in the Brazilian semi-arid region in two agricultural areas and two non-agricultural areas. We used fluctuating limb asymmetry and hepatosomatic, adiposomatic, and gonadosomatic indices as indicators of disturbance. There was asymmetry only in the femur length of L. macrosternum and in the calcaneus-phalange length of S. x-signatus, but we observed no significant differences in asymmetry between the agricultural and non-agricultural areas. There was wide variation among the four studied areas in the hepatosomatic, adiposomatic, and especially gonadosomatic indices of L. macrosternum, but no indication of a difference between individuals from agricultural and non-agricultural areas. This suggests a possible relationship with unknown local environmental characteristics or ecological factors. Moreover, L. macrosternum and S. x-signatus are species with generalist behavior that are well adapted to disturbed areas. Thus, fluctuating asymmetry and organosomatic indices may not have been capable of detecting impacts, or the stressors that could affect them were simply not present in agricultural habitats. Future studies focusing on histological variations in the gonads and evaluations of chemical contamination of organs tissue may give a better understanding of the possible impacts of agriculture on these populations.