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      An Acoustic Analysis of the Genus Microhyla (Anura: Microhylidae) of Sri Lanka

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          Abstract

          Vocalizing behavior of frogs and toads, once quantified, is useful for systematics, rapid species identification, behavioral experimentation and conservation monitoring. But yet, for many lineages vocalizations remain unknown or poorly quantified, especially in diversity rich tropical regions. Here we provide a quantitative acoustical analysis for all four Sri Lankan congeners of the genus Microhyla. Three of these species are endemic to the island, but Microhyla ornata is regionally widespread. Two of these endemics, M. karunaratnei (Critically Endangered) and M. zeylanica (Endangered), are highly threatened montane isolates; the other, M. mihintalei, is relatively common across the dry lowlands. We recorded and analyzed 100 advertisement calls from five calling males for each species, except for M. zeylanica, which only had 53 calls from three males suitable for analyses. All four species call in choruses and their vocal repertoires are simple compared to most frogs. Their calls contain multiple pulses and no frequency modulation. We quantified eight call characters. Call duration and number of pulses were higher for the two montane isolates (inhabiting cooler habitats at higher altitudes) compared to their lowland congeners. Microhyla zeylanica has the longest call duration (of 1.8 ± 0.12 s) and the highest number of pulses (of 61–92 pulses). The smallest of the species, Microhyla karunaratnei (16.2–18.3 mm), has the highest mean dominant frequency (3.3 ± 0.14 kHz) and pulse rate (77 ± 5.8 pulses per second). The calls separate well in the Principal Component space: PC1 axis is mostly explained by the number of pulses per call and call duration; PC2 is mostly explained by the pulse rate. A canonical means plot of a Discriminant Function analysis shows non-overlapping 95% confidence ellipses. This suggests that some call parameters can be used to distinguish these species effectively. We provide detailed descriptions for eight call properties and compare these with congeners for which data is available. This work provides a foundation for comparative bioacoustic analyses and species monitoring while facilitating the systematics of Microhyla across its range.

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          Vast underestimation of Madagascar's biodiversity evidenced by an integrative amphibian inventory.

          Amphibians are in decline worldwide. However, their patterns of diversity, especially in the tropics, are not well understood, mainly because of incomplete information on taxonomy and distribution. We assess morphological, bioacoustic, and genetic variation of Madagascar's amphibians, one of the first near-complete taxon samplings from a biodiversity hotspot. Based on DNA sequences of 2,850 specimens sampled from over 170 localities, our analyses reveal an extreme proportion of amphibian diversity, projecting an almost 2-fold increase in species numbers from the currently described 244 species to a minimum of 373 and up to 465. This diversity is widespread geographically and across most major phylogenetic lineages except in a few previously well-studied genera, and is not restricted to morphologically cryptic clades. We classify the genealogical lineages in confirmed and unconfirmed candidate species or deeply divergent conspecific lineages based on concordance of genetic divergences with other characters. This integrative approach may be widely applicable to improve estimates of organismal diversity. Our results suggest that in Madagascar the spatial pattern of amphibian richness and endemism must be revisited, and current habitat destruction may be affecting more species than previously thought, in amphibians as well as in other animal groups. This case study suggests that worldwide tropical amphibian diversity is probably underestimated at an unprecedented level and stresses the need for integrated taxonomic surveys as a basis for prioritizing conservation efforts within biodiversity hotspots.
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            Real-time bioacoustics monitoring and automated species identification

            Traditionally, animal species diversity and abundance is assessed using a variety of methods that are generally costly, limited in space and time, and most importantly, they rarely include a permanent record. Given the urgency of climate change and the loss of habitat, it is vital that we use new technologies to improve and expand global biodiversity monitoring to thousands of sites around the world. In this article, we describe the acoustical component of the Automated Remote Biodiversity Monitoring Network (ARBIMON), a novel combination of hardware and software for automating data acquisition, data management, and species identification based on audio recordings. The major components of the cyberinfrastructure include: a solar powered remote monitoring station that sends 1-min recordings every 10 min to a base station, which relays the recordings in real-time to the project server, where the recordings are processed and uploaded to the project website (arbimon.net). Along with a module for viewing, listening, and annotating recordings, the website includes a species identification interface to help users create machine learning algorithms to automate species identification. To demonstrate the system we present data on the vocal activity patterns of birds, frogs, insects, and mammals from Puerto Rico and Costa Rica.
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              Local endemism within the Western Ghats-sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot.

              The apparent biotic affinities between the mainland and the island in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot have been interpreted as the result of frequent migrations during recent periods of low sea level. We show, using molecular phylogenies of two invertebrate and four vertebrate groups, that biotic interchange between these areas has been much more limited than hitherto assumed. Despite several extended periods of land connection during the past 500,000 years, Sri Lanka has maintained a fauna that is largely distinct from that of the Indian mainland. Future conservation programs for the subcontinent should take into account such patterns of local endemism at the finest scale at which they may occur.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Editor
                Journal
                PLoS One
                PLoS ONE
                plos
                plosone
                PLoS ONE
                Public Library of Science (San Francisco, CA USA )
                1932-6203
                12 July 2016
                2016
                : 11
                : 7
                : e0159003
                Affiliations
                [001]Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, KY, 20400, Sri Lanka
                University of Pavia, ITALY
                Author notes

                Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

                Conceived and designed the experiments: MM NW. Performed the experiments: NW MM. Analyzed the data: NW MM. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MM NW. Wrote the paper: MM NW.

                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4599-6724
                Article
                PONE-D-16-05213
                10.1371/journal.pone.0159003
                4942061
                27403744
                d7bec8b8-40a4-4e22-a6b1-df8932a84ce3
                © 2016 Wijayathilaka, Meegaskumbura

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : 5 February 2016
                : 25 June 2016
                Page count
                Figures: 3, Tables: 2, Pages: 11
                Funding
                Funded by: funder-id http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008968, National Research Council Sri Lanka;
                Award ID: 11-124
                Award Recipient :
                Funded by: University of Peradeniya Research Grant
                Award ID: RG/2012/45/S
                Award Recipient :
                This research was supported by the National Research Council of Sri Lanka (NRC 11-124) to MM, and the University of Peradeniya Research Grant (RG/2012/45/S) to MM.
                Categories
                Research Article
                Physical Sciences
                Physics
                Acoustics
                Bioacoustics
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Bioacoustics
                People and Places
                Geographical Locations
                Asia
                India
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Behavior
                Animal Behavior
                Animal Signaling and Communication
                Vocalization
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Zoology
                Animal Behavior
                Animal Signaling and Communication
                Vocalization
                Physical Sciences
                Physics
                Acoustics
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
                Animals
                Vertebrates
                Amphibians
                Frogs
                Research and Analysis Methods
                Mathematical and Statistical Techniques
                Statistical Methods
                Multivariate Analysis
                Principal Component Analysis
                Physical Sciences
                Mathematics
                Statistics (Mathematics)
                Statistical Methods
                Multivariate Analysis
                Principal Component Analysis
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
                Animals
                Vertebrates
                Amphibians
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Conservation Biology
                Endangered Species
                Ecology and Environmental Sciences
                Conservation Science
                Conservation Biology
                Endangered Species
                Custom metadata
                All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

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