Parental Care by Frogs

Parental Care by FrogsOnly an estimated 10 percent of anuran (frog and toad) species provide anykind of parental care. But within this 10 percent there is very great diversity ofcaregiving behaviors. The behaviors are of five basic types. The most commontype is attendance of eggs. In most cases, terrestrial eggs are attended. Theother four types of parental care are transporting the eggs, attending youngfrogs or tadpoles (the immature stage of a frog’s development), transportingthe tadpoles or young frogs, and feeding the tadpoles.According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of parental care inanuran species?A.Most anuran species provide a wide variety of parental care.B.Attendance of eggs laid on land is the most common form of parentalcare.C.Tadpoles receive parental care more frequently than young frogs do.D.Parental care is provided according to the various stages ofdevelopment of offspring.The term parental care is generally used for any type of parental investment inoffspring after the eggs have been deposited or the young have been born.Only a few studies have investigated the costs and benefits of parental care inamphibians, so, while parental care presumably increases the survivorship ofthe young, and usually entails a cost to the caregiver, the costs and benefitsfor the vast majority of frog species that provide care to their offspring areunknown.How does parental care increase the survivorship of offspring? The parentsmay protect the eggs from predators or disease, or they may aerate aquaticeggs. Because the terrestrial environment is not hospitable to the porousjelly-covered eggs of amphibians or to tadpoles, parental behaviors may beparticularly beneficial in preventing drying out. In some species the parentreleases water from its bladder onto the eggs. Parents may turn the eggs, thuspreventing developmental abnormalities. In New Guinea, male frogs of somespecies transport young on their backs. The tiny frogs hop off at differentplaces in the habitat. Thus, the young may benefit from reduced competitionfor food, lower predator pressure, and reduced levels in inbreeding.It can be inferred from paragraph 3 that adult males of some New Guinea frogspecies help their offspring survive by transporting them to locations whereA.some other animals eat the same foods that the offspring eatB.the offspring are already familiar with the types of predators aroundC.plentiful supplies of water are availableD.few or no other offspring from the same parents liveThe benefits of egg attendance are best known in the Puerto Rican coqui frog.Female coquis lay eggs in a sheltered retreat within the male’s territory, andthe male attends the eggs. To determine the benefits of egg attendance,Daniel Townsend and his colleagues removed attending males from someclutches (groups of eggs produced at the same time) to determine the fates...