Martino, A. L. & U. Sinsch

Demographic life-history traits and diet of Physalaemus biligonigerus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in central Argentina. pp. 256-262.

Abstract. The Neotropical weeping frog Physalaemus biligonigerus (Cope, 1861) is one of the most common anurans inhabiting the grasslands, shrublands, and dry forests of Argen­tina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Populations often include thousands of individuals and the species is currently classified as of least concern and with a stable population trend (IUCN 2023). Due to their biomass and trophic ecology, they play an important role in the Pampean ecosystem (undisturbed and agriculturally used) feeding on herbivore arthropods. We provide an exten­sive data set on demographic life history traits and trophic diversity features in a large population in the Pampa of central Argentina. Our study on a P. biligonigerus popula­tion inhabiting a grazed grassland demonstrates that the life history is the result of r-selection with high fecundi­ty, fast larval development occurred within 24–48 hours of capture, early sexual maturity, and short longevity. Physa­laemus biligonigerus shares the demographic traits (early maturity, short lifespan) observed in the study population with many other small-and medium-sized anuran species under r-selection, as for example hyperolids and ceratophryds.