Data from: Specialized breeding in plants affects diversification trajectories in Neotropical frogs

Many animals breed exclusively in plants that accumulate rainwater
(phytotelma; e.g., bromeliad, bamboo, fruit husk, and tree hole), to which
they are either physiologically or behaviorally specialized for this
microhabitat. Of the numerous life-history modes observed in frogs, few
are as striking or potentially consequential as the transition from pond-
or stream-breeding to the deposition of eggs or larvae in phytotelmata.
Such specialization can increase offspring survivorship due to reduced
competition and predation, representing potential ecological opportunity
for adaptive radiation, yet few lineages of phytotelma-breeding frogs
appear to have diversified extensively after such a transition, at least
in the New World. We use a phylogeny of Neotropical frogs and data on
breeding microhabitat to understand the evolutionary transitions involved
with specialized phytotelma-breeding. First, we find that
phytotelma-breeding is present in at least 168 species in 10 families of
frogs. Across the phylogeny, we estimate 14 origins of phytotelma-breeding
and 115 reversals, showing that phytotelma-breeding is a highly labile
character. Second, phytotelma-breeding lineages overall have higher net
diversification than non-phytotelma-breeding ones. This specialization
represents an ecological opportunity resulting in increased
diversification in most families with phytotelma-breeding lineages,
whereas phytotelma-breeding toads have restricted diversification
histories.