- Title
- Safety bubbles: a review of the proposed functions of froth nesting among anuran amphibians
- Creator
- Gould, John
- Relation
- Ecologies Vol. 2, Issue 1, p. 112-137
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ecologies2010006
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- The adults of several anuran amphibian species deposit their eggs externally in mucus secretions that are purposely aerated to produce a froth nest. This type of clutch structure has evolved independently several times in this group and has been proposed to serve a variety and often simultaneous adaptive functions associated with protecting offspring from sub-optimal conditions during embryogenesis and later stages after hatching has occurred. These functions range from buffering offspring from sub-optimal temperatures and desiccation, to defending against predation and improving oxygenation. This versatility has likely helped facilitate the reduced reliance of egg development on water and thus the penetration of anurans into environments where permanent aquatic systems are not always available. In this paper, I review the hypothesised functions of the anuran froth nest as a mucus-based solution to the environmental challenges offspring face during development, with consideration of the functions of froth nest breakdown and communal froth nesting, as well.
- Subject
- anti-desiccation; anti-predation; bubble next; clutch structure; communal nesting; egg mass
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1452539
- Identifier
- uon:44453
- Identifier
- ISSN:2673-4133
- Rights
- © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
- Reviewed
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