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The Sinos River encompasses a wide area of natural habitats and, at the same time, supports one of the highest population densities of southern Brazil. Consequently, natural habitats along the Basin present a high degree of habitat disturbance. Despite of the existence of threatened species, information about diversity of amphibians in that area is scarce. Thus, we aimed to catalogue the amphibian species of the Sinos River Basin from records in scientific collections and compilation of published articles. We recorded 52 species, all with geographic coordinates validated at the collection point, indicating that the Sinos River Basin harbours about 50% of the amphibian species of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Three anuran species were classified as having some degree of threat: Melanophryniscus cambaraensis, Melanophryniscus dorsalis and Thoropa saxatilis. We also expected other 18 species with a high probability of occurrence in the Basin. This work shows that, despite the intense human impact, the Sinos River Basin has a relevant role for the maintenance of a considerable fraction of the amphibian biodiversity in southern Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the advertisement and territorial calls ofHylodes meridionalisfor the first time and provide observations on nocturnal calling activity for this species. The advertisement call has 36–82 harmonic notes, with duration of 2.71–5.69 s and dominant frequency on the third harmonic. Advertisement calls are separated by large intervals varying from 18.7 to 44.7 s. The territorial call has 1–3 notes, with duration of 0.039–0.567 seconds, and dominant frequency also on the third harmonic. Territorial calls are emitted at a much higher repetition rate than the advertisement call, with intervals of 1.1–1.6 s between each call. Frogs of the genusHylodesare known to call mainly during the day, but forH. meridionalisnocturnal calling was observed on various occasions, and could occur regularly until two hours after sunset, or sporadically along the night. Descrevemos os cantos de anúncio e territorial deHylodes meridionalispela primeira vez e fornecemos observações sobre a atividade noturna de vocalização para esta espécie. O canto de anúncio tem 36–82 notas harmônicas, com duração de 2,71–5,69 segundos e frequência dominante no terceiro harmônico. Há grandes intervalos entre os cantos de anúncio, de 18,7–44,7 segundos. O canto territorial tem 1–3 notas, com duração de 0,039–0,567 segundos, e frequência dominante também no terceiro harmônico. Cantos territoriais são emitidos a uma taxa de repetição muito mais elevado do que o canto de anúncio, com intervalos de 1,1–1,6 segundos entre cada canto. As espécies do gêneroHylodessão conhecidas por vocalizar principalmente durante o dia, mas machos deH. meridionalisforam observados em atividade de vocalização noturna em várias ocasiões, sendo que podem vocalizar regularmente até duas horas após o pôr do sol, ou esporadicamente ao longo da noite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mortality from road-kills may figure among the important causes of decline in amphibian populations and species extinctions worldwide. Evaluation of the magnitude, composition, and temporal and spatial distributions of amphibian road-kills is a key step for mitigation planning, especially in peri-urban reserves. Once a month for 16 months, we surveyed, on foot, a 4.4 km section of state road ERS-389 bordering the Itapeva reserve in the southern Atlantic Forest. We recorded 1433 anuran road-kills and estimated a mortality rate of 9002 road-kills/km/year. The species most often recorded were the largest ones: Leptodactylus latrans, Rhinella icterica, Leptodactylus gracilis and Hypsiboas faber; 54.5% of the carcasses could not be identified. Anuran mortality was concentrated in summer, and was associated with temperature, rainfall and photoperiod. Leptodactylus road-kills were strongly influenced by vehicle traffic, probably because of its high abundance during the entire study period. Road-kill hotspots differed for anurans as a group and for single species, and we found an association among spatial patterns of mortality and types of land cover, distance from the nearest waterbody, roadside ditches, and artificial light. Traffic should be banned temporarily during periods of high mortality, which can be forecasted based on meteorological data. A comprehensive mitigation approach should take into account hotspots of all anuran records, and also of target species for selecting locations for amphibian passages and fencing. Roadside ditches, artificial waterbodies, and conventional street lights should be reduced as much as possible, since they may represent ecological traps for anuran populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]