Taran Grant.

Pretende-se adensar as evidências genotípicas para entender as relações filogenéticas na família, e reconstruir a evolução de caracteres fenotípicos utilizando sequenciamento de DNA de alto rendimento com marcadores desenvolvidos especificamente para anuros; DNA histórico de amostras conhecidas atualmente apenas das coleções científicas; e análise de transcrição diferencial da pele, glândulas e órgãos internos. Todas estas evidências geradas serão utilizadas para compreensão da evolução genotípica e fenotípica em Phyllomedusidae com possibilidade de integração com outras áreas de pesquisa.

This project is developed along three overlapping and interrelated lines of investigation: amphibian systematics, chemical defense, and ecology and conservation biology. We will set up a cleanroom laboratory to obtain DNA sequences from historical museum specimens and will develop and implement procedures to obtain DNA sequences from a new set of 1041 nuclear DNA markers using next-generation sequencing methods. In addition to general studies of phenomic characters for phylogenetic analysis, we will study amphibian visual ecology and evolution, focusing especially on taxa that differ in key ecological traits, including diel activity and diet, and the changes the visual system undergoes during metamorphosis. We will also study the evolution of amphibian skin, focusing specifically on the morphology of glands used in breeding and chemical defense. A central analytical goal will be to understand the impact, relative to both method of DNA sequence alignment and phylogenetic optimality criterion, of comparatively small phenomic data partitions on the results of total evidence phylogenetic analyses when combined with much larger genomic data partitions. We will employ comparative and experimental approaches to document and explain variation in lipophilic alkaloid-based and tetrodotoxin-based chemical defenses at different temporal and spatial scales. Finally, we will install audio recording stations for long-term, continuous monitoring of anuran populations in stream, pond, and forest habitats within the Boracéia Biological Station, enabling us to quantify diel, seasonal, annual, and long-term variation in amphibian activity at each site.

Although amphibians have been known to decline for decades, we know surprisingly little about many aspects of their ecology. In this project, a specialist in amphibian phylogeny based at the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences in Buenos Aires, a specialist in amphibian biology based at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a specialist on visual ecology and colour vision at the University of Lund, Sweden, team up to better understand the visual ecology of amphibians. This will be a completely new collaboration. Therefore, in this first phase of the collaboration, we will focus on an adaptation for vision in dim light that is specific for (most, but not all) amphibians: the presence of two classes of rod photoreceptors in the retina. We will take behavioural tests from the laboratory to the field, study amphibian eyes with histological and optical methods, and measure the light habitats of a broad range of species to answer these questions: Can amphibians use their two rod types to discriminate colours at night, and what is the ecological relevance of this? How widespread are the green rods in all three amphibians orders - Anura, Caudata, Gymnophiona? Is the presence of green rods associated with nocturnal lifestyles and/or
specific groups throughout their evolutionary history, and how does artificial lighting affect amphibian amphibians? The project is relevant for sensory biology, amphibian phylogeny and systematics, and for conservation of endangered species.

Theoretical and empirical advances over the past 50 years have revolutionized scientific understanding of amphibians. With this new understanding comes a host of new research questions whose answers demand the pursuit of otherwise independent scientific disciplines. In keeping with the objectives of the Young Investigators program, I propose to establish a new research program that combines cutting edge technologies and innovative approaches from multiple disciplines to investigate amphibian diversification at different scales. I will study amphibian systematics by conducting extensive field work in Brazil and Colombia (which boast the richest amphibian faunas in the world) and analyzing both phenotypic and DNA sequence evidence. I will use next generation sequencing to generate complete genomes for 30 species, which I will use to study genome structure and function and design universal primers to sequence targeted regions for phylogenetic analysis at different levels of divergence. Amphibian skin possesses a vast arsenal of defensive chemicals, and I will investigate the evolution and ecology of the diversity of defensive alkaloids in dendrobatids and the bufonid genus Melanophryniscus. Biological invasions are both an important threat to native species and a unique opportunity to study evolutionary and ecological processes. The invasive species Lithobates catesbeianus, the American bullfrog, has greatly expanded its distribution in recent years. I will use radio-telemetry to track the movement of individual bullfrogs to better understand the patterns and distances of invasive bullfrog movements, and I will use simulated acoustic invasions to study the effects of invasive bullfrogs on native biodiversity.

This project aims to characterize the spatial distribution of the invasive species
Lithobates catesbeianus, the American bullfrog, in the southern Atlantic Forest of
Brazil. Scattered records indicate that the species is broadly distributed in diverse
habitats, but a systematic evaluation has not been carried out. We will sample
sites with and without bullfrogs to identify habitat characteristics that favour
establishment and the invertebrate and vertebrate species and/or species groups
that are most affected by the invasion process. We expect that our results will
provide a diagnosis of the spatial pattern of this invasion and inform potential
management actions.

Este projeto de pesquisa inclui o estudo da sistemática filogenética das principais linhagens da árvore da vida dos anfíbios e as relações a nível das espécies na superfamília Dendrobatoidea, a família Centrolenidae e o gênero Hyloscirtus (Hylidae). Esses projetos incluem a obtenção de seqüências de DNA e de caracteres fenotípicos (e.g., morfologia, comportamento) para análise de ?evidência total? usando novos algoritmos e estratégias de busca no programa POY, que implementa a metodologia da homologia dinâmica para buscar as melhores homologias (alinhamento) e topologia simultaneamente. O projeto também aplicará uma nova abordagem metodológica para incorporar a informação filogenética e ecológica na investigação da diversidade de alcalóides lipofílicos na defesa química das rãs de veneno da família Dendrobatidae.

Lithobates catesbeianus está classificada como uma das invasoras mais prejudiciais do planeta. A introdução de L.catesbeianus no Brasil data de 1935. Em associação com a aqüicultura, muitas outras introduções se seguiram e a espécie está presente nos estados de Piauí e Alagoas no nordeste brasileiro, e em todos os estados das regiões sul e sudeste do país. A presença da espécie em áreas de Mata Atlântica é especialmente preocupante, dado o fato de o bioma ser uma área de grande diversidade. Os padrões espaciais e processos relativos à invasão da espécie não são conhecidos no país, tampouco a extensão de seus efeitos sobre as demais espécies de anfíbios.O presente projeto tem como finalidade diagnosticar os padrões espaciais da invasão da rã-touro em diferentes formações Atlânticas no sul do Brasil, e também promover a divulgação da problemática associada à espécie ao público.

Coordenador de Atividades de Participação em Projeto, PPG-Zoologia