ABSTRACT: Phyllomedusa venusta (Anura: Hylidae) is known to have a distribution in lowland areas of the Caribbean region, Magdalena Valley and northern Pacific coast of Colombia. We have discovered new records of P. venusta from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta that expand its known distribution. Additionally, we describe the release call of a female P. venusta, which consists of two series of notes of low intensity. The first has three consecutive notes and the second has five notes. The duration between the notes was measured to be 0.36 seconds ± 0.31 and there was a time interval of 8.12 seconds between the two series.

ABSTRACT: Ololygon alcatraz is a threatened treefrog endemic to a single small island in Brazil. Research on ecological interactions for this species is scarce, and nothing is known about parasitism. Thus, we investigated the presence of macroparasites of the gastrointestinal system of O. alcatraz. We found only two types of helminth, nematodes and acanthocephalans, both in the larval stages. Our results suggest that individuals of O. alcatraz are part of these parasites’ life-cycle, using them as paratenic or intermediate hosts.

ABSTRACT: Reptiles are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths between the ultra-violet and infrared bands. Husbandry practitioners designing artificial lighting arrays should aim to provide spectra that approximate those to which a given species has become adapted in nature. This would satisfy biological needs ranging from thermoregulation and vitamin D3 photobiosynthesis to vision and communication. We evaluated the spectral outputs of two artificial lighting arrays (A & B) in their ability to provide this. Array A was designed to replicate those used as standard over the last decade in many controlled environments, while the Array B was intended to provide a more solar-like output. We measured behaviour and calculated a modified Spread of Participation Index (mSPI) for three species of reptile (turtle, lizard and snake) as the arrays were alternated in an A-B-A design (in observation periods 1, 2 and 3). Data were analysed using randomisation to deal with small sample size and repeated measures. Although in theory Array B provided a better spectrum than Array A, there were no clear patterns where behaviour and mSPI shifted going from Array A to B then reverted when going from Array B to A. However, the lizard and turtle both showed unexplained behavioural shifts, and the lizard an associated mSPI shift, when going from Array B to A. Our results demonstrate the power of combination lighting arrays to better approximate solar spectra, but also that behavioural observations may not reflect theoretical implications. We suggest reasons for this and directions for future research.