Advertisement call and genetic structure conservatism : good news for an endangered Neotropical frog

Background. Many amphibian species are negatively affected by anthropogenic habitat change. Populations distributed over modified landscapes may be subject to local extinction or may be relegated to remaining, likely isolated and possibly degraded, patches of available habitat. Isolation without gene flow can lead to variability in phenotypic traits due to differences in local selective pressures, such as environmental structure, microclimate or site-specific species assemblages. Methods. Here we tested this microevolution hypothesis by evaluating the acoustic parameters of 349 advertisement calls from 15 males representing six populations of the endangered species Proceratophrys moratoi. In addition, we analyzed the genetic distance between populations and the genetic diversity by haplotype network. We carried out a cluster analysis by Bray-Curtis index of similarity using acoustic data by UPGMA method. We correlated acoustic dissimilarities (calculated by Euclidean distance) with geographic and genetic distances among populations. Results. Spectral traits of the advertisement call of P. moratoi presented lower coefficients of variation than did temporal traits both within and among males. Cluster analyses placed individuals without population and geographical distance congruence, but recovered the species topology in relation to sister species. The genetic distance was low among populations: it did not exceed 0.4% for the most distant populations, and was not correlated with acoustic distance. Discussion. Both acoustic features and genetic sequences are highly conserved, suggesting that populations may be connected by recent migrations or that they are subject to stabilizing selective forces. Although future studies are needed, these findings contribute to a growing body of literature suggesting that this species would be a good candidate for a reintroduction program without negative effects on communication or even genetic heritage.