Climate and mating systems as drivers of global diversity of parental care in frogs

Aim

Amphibians exhibit unusually diverse reproductive modes, including a wide array of parental care strategies. The evolutionary drivers of this diversity, however, remain unclear. Here we investigate three major factors which may predict interspecific variation in parental care strategies: climate, intrasexual selection and social environment. We hypothesise that some care forms evolved to cope with harsh conditions such as dry or unpredictable habitats. We contrast this prediction with the hypothesis that parental roles have coevolved with the social environment and mating systems. 

Location

Global.

Major taxa studied

Frogs and toads (Anura, Amphibia).

Time period

Extant taxa that represent approximately 220 million years of evolutionary history

Methods

Using geographic and behavioural data for 971 species of frogs and toads that represent 45 anuran families, we quantify the global distribution of four forms of parenting separately for males and females: ne...