Keywords :
Oviposition; Nest Construction
บทคัดย่อ :
Field observations were made at the Sakaerat Environmental Research Station in northeastern Thailand (14.5090 degrees N, 101.9537 degrees E, WGS84) in 2011 and 2015, during which time we documented nine R. kio clutches, including oviposition and nest construction of two. At the study site, male R. kio have been documented calling in 2011 above three seasonal pools: two that were formed by the damming of different tributaries of an ephemeral stream and one by the wallowing of wild boars (Sus scrofa). Each pool was searched for egg masses between ca. 0330 and 0600 h each day from 19 August-12 September 2011, and occasional night searches were also carried out during rainy periods between ca. 1700 and 2300 h in August-September in 2011 and 2015. All egg masses were found at the boar wallow after heavy rains, including eight in 2011 and one in 2015 (Table 1). On two occasions, we observed R. kio during the process of oviposition and nest construction. At 2133 h on 12 September 2011, we found an amplectant pair of R. kio in the process of laying a foam nest on a single leaf (Fig. 1). Amplexus was axillary, with the female (SVL = 85 mm) kicking her hindlimbs to form the foam which contains eggs and mucus released by the female and sperm from the male (Wells 2007. The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians. University of Chicago Press, Illinois. 1148 pp.). The male was observed kicking his hindlimbs on the surface of the egg mass a few times. At 2150 h, the male released his grip on the female and left the site of the clutch, while the female continued to kick her hindlimbs over the surface of the egg mass. At 2153 h, the female used her hindlimbs to pull in nearby leaves, pressing the leaves against the sticky surface of the foam, and then holding the leaves in position by wrapping her body and limbs around the whole leaf and foam nest structure for two minutes. The female repeated this behavior three times, initially with leaves from the same branch as that to which the egg mass was attached, and then with leaves from a neighboring branch. The female held the newly attached leaves in position for 1-2 minutes each time, until leaves formed a rough ellipsoid covering the entire surface of the egg mass. She then held the entire structure for an additional 20 minutes (Fig. 2), before leaving the nest site at 2217 h. Observations concluded after the female moved away from nest site. Similarly at 2154 h on 11 August 2015, a female R. kio was observed kicking her hindlimbs over the surface of a newly laid egg mass approximately 3 m above the water surface of the same boar wallow, presumably after the male frog had left. We observed the female using her hindlimbs to pull in leaves around the egg mass, attach them to the foam, and hold them in place with her body forming a structure similar to that documented in 2011.
เอกสารอ้างอิง :
Poo, S., Ragsdale, A. B., Jenkins, H. E., Jacques, L. L., & Tan, E. (2016). Rhacophorus kio: Oviposition and nest construction 120 Natural History Notes. Herpetological Review, 47, 1.
