TY - JOUR
T1 - Microhabitat use during brumation in the Japanese treefrog, Dryophytes japonicus
AU - Borzée, Amaël
AU - Kim, Miyeon
AU - Kim, Jun Young
AU - Kim, Taeho
AU - Jang, Yikweon
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements. This work was supported financially by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea (2017R1A2B2003579) and a grant from the Rural Development Administration of Korea (PJ012285) to YJ. The observations in this study comply with the current laws of the Republic of Korea.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2018 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
PY - 2018/4/5
Y1 - 2018/4/5
N2 - Although amphibians undergo drastic changes in physiology and behaviour before hibernation, this phase of their life cycle (i.e., brumation) is the least understood. We investigated the patterns of microhabitat use by Dryophytes japonicus during brumation using a Harmonic Direction Finder to track 27 adults in October 2013. Most frogs used chestnut trees throughout their diel cycle. The species was most active within the "leafy vegetation" microhabitat, moving about 2 m within 72 h on average, and mostly circa 10 AM. Frogs moved less in the four other microhabitats, with individuals moving between 1 m and 50 cm, typically during the early afternoon. Around 3 pm, the microhabitat mostly used was "on bark", with displacements almost totally halted. The use of microhabitats and shelters, as well as movements in relation to time of day, suggests that D. japonicus displays behavioural thermoregulation during brumation. This research is the first providing insights in the brumation ecology of a non-freeze-resistant Palearctic anuran.
AB - Although amphibians undergo drastic changes in physiology and behaviour before hibernation, this phase of their life cycle (i.e., brumation) is the least understood. We investigated the patterns of microhabitat use by Dryophytes japonicus during brumation using a Harmonic Direction Finder to track 27 adults in October 2013. Most frogs used chestnut trees throughout their diel cycle. The species was most active within the "leafy vegetation" microhabitat, moving about 2 m within 72 h on average, and mostly circa 10 AM. Frogs moved less in the four other microhabitats, with individuals moving between 1 m and 50 cm, typically during the early afternoon. Around 3 pm, the microhabitat mostly used was "on bark", with displacements almost totally halted. The use of microhabitats and shelters, as well as movements in relation to time of day, suggests that D. japonicus displays behavioural thermoregulation during brumation. This research is the first providing insights in the brumation ecology of a non-freeze-resistant Palearctic anuran.
KW - body temperature
KW - brumation
KW - Dryophytes japonicus
KW - environmental temperature
KW - pre-hibernation activity
KW - pre-hibernation microhabitat use
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045398955&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1163/15685381-17000036
DO - 10.1163/15685381-17000036
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85045398955
SN - 0173-5373
VL - 39
SP - 163
EP - 175
JO - Amphibia Reptilia
JF - Amphibia Reptilia
IS - 2
ER -