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• Prioritization of conservation areas is usually based on phylogenetic diversity (PD). • We used intra-specific PD to prioritize conservation areas in northern Uruguay. • We analyzed the partitioning of PD among areas in four species of lizards and frogs. • We developed an R package (areaPD) to rank areas based on their shared PD patterns. • Our prioritized areas in northern Uruguay are under varying levels of anthropization. Conservation biology has traditionally applied a range of species-level criteria to prioritize areas for biodiversity protection. However, intraspecific genetic data can be more effective for prioritization than species-level approaches at small spatial scales. Phylogenetic diversity can be used for area prioritization based on intra-specific genealogies of multiple, co-distributed species. In this study, we evaluated the intra-specific phylodiversity of four co-distributed frogs and lizards in the northern hills of Uruguay ('Quebradas del Norte', QDN). There was strong congruence in PD patterns among species, which supported 'Tres Cruces' (TCS) as the best-ranked drainage in general, and as the best complement to the phylodiversity already protected in the QDN. Congruent PD patterns across species at our small spatial scale (∼3850 km2) suggest limited dispersal abilities and strong habitat preferences in all four species. In addition, the partitioning of PD within and between drainages separated 'Tacuarembó Grande/Cuñapirú' (TGC) as the most distinct from the other drainages. There was a clear north-east to south-west gradient of increasing natural land cover across drainages, where TCS had intermediate values of anthropization and a higher contribution of native forest, while anthropized habitats covered a higher proportion of the TGC drainage with an important contribution of forestry plantations. Our prioritizations of TCS and TGC are consistent with previous species-level assessments of land vertebrates and woody plants in the QDN. We encourage the use of the R package 'areaPD' (github.com/arleyc/areaPD) to analyze phylogeographic data from multiple, co-distributed species and to apply a comparative PD approach for area prioritization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lizards exhibit a variety of anti-predator strateg ies, but the most commonly used is escape. In the case of the lizard genus Teius they use mimesis with vegetation as a first strategy and escape as the second tactic. These lizards are fast runners and can run even us ing only the hind legs. Here we present data on the escape behaviour on Teius oculatus and Teius teyou in different environments. A to tal of 30 days of field work were carried out in different areas of Paraguay during 2013 and 2014. We analysed a total of 103 records of Teius teyou and 35 of T. oculatus. All individuals of T. oculatus kept a close distance to vegetation/shelters, while T. teyou were more exposed to sight. Differences in foraging distances from the shelters between T. teyou and T. oculatus are statistically significant (K=0.2952, p =0.9609). Approach distance was similar between these two species (U=1687.5, Z=5.28, p = 0.01), but usually T. oculatus allowed a closer approach distance. After the first sprint (once a lizard was detected) T. oculatus almost always remained under the vegetation, while T. teyou showed more diverse patterns of behaviour; ther e was a significant difference between the species (² =51.069, df=3, p 0.0001). These are the first records of es cape behaviour in lizards of the genus Teius. Knowledge of behaviour and habitat use can help a ddressing conservation actions in places with anthropogenic alterations. In this case, T. teyou is a species adapted to forage near human dwellings and can be even present in gardens. On the other hand, T. oculatus seems to be shyer, but is able to inhabit small vegetation patches. Despite being two species living clos e to humans, the preservation of different kinds of shelters may be required to maintain the suitability of the habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which analyzed the breeding habitat and natural history notes of the toad Melanophryniscus pachyrhynus in southern Brazil. It claims that the toad specie belongs to the M. tumifrons group, which are mainly present in South American countries, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. It cites that the calling behaviour of the M. pachyrhynus is similar to that of the male M. devincenzii and male M. orejasmirandai. It states that the M. pachyrhynus exhibited diurnal and nocturnal calling activity.

The article explores the spatial and temporal distribution of Pseudis minuta and the role of environmental factors in its reproduction in Reserva Biológica do Lami, Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. There were significant differences in border distance and water depth among age-sex classes of Pseudis minuta. No significant difference was found in the presence of calling males and non-calling males in relation to monthly relative humidity but opposite was noted in relation to total monthly rainfall, mean monthly air temperature and water temperature. The number of females was related with daily air temperature, relative humidity and water temperature.

The article presents a study on the conservation status of reptiles and amphibians in Uruguay. The researchers observed and compared the percentages of every threat category for Uruguayan reptiles and amphibians at regional and global scales. They found that the introduction of alien diseases and species is a threat that has been detected in Uruguay, which could have an impact comparable to environmental contamination and habitat loss. They also considered other important variables like the habitat extent, continuous decline in the extent of presence and habitat fragmentation.

Calling activity of anuran assemblages were related to seasonal changes in weather factors such as temperature and rainfall. We evaluated the suitability of these variables as determinants of activity of an assemblage and compared them against a sinusoidal model that considered month as a "latent variable" related to seasonality. Activity patterns were assessed in a ten-species assemblage of anurans in southern Uruguay. The sinusoidal function of month explained a larger proportion of the variability in activity and was more parsimonious than models that considered weather variables. At a seasonal scale, activity is determined by a circannual rhythm and/or responses to complex seasonal changes in environmental conditions. The sinusoidal model that uses parameters with clear biological interpretation is a good descriptor of seasonal trend in a community structure, and could be applied in other assemblages to test its generality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]