Review
Biodiversity Conservation
T. M. Doherty-Bone, A. A. Cunningham, M. C. Fisher, T. W. J. Garner, P. Ghosh, D. J. Gower, R. Verster, C. Weldon
ANIMAL CONSERVATION
(2020)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
A. M. Tchassem F., T. M. Doherty-Bone, M. M. Kameni N., W. P. Tapondjou N., J. L. Tamesse, L. N. Gonwouo
Summary: The study suggests that habitat loss and fragmentation in African mountains are endangering amphibians, particularly the montane endemic frogs in Cameroon. Threatened species are closely associated with forested areas, and about 69% of amphibian species on Mount Bamboutos are at risk. Historical species records indicate disappearance of certain species from the mountain.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ben C. Scheele, Frank Pasmans, Lee F. Skerratt, Lee Berger, An Martel, Wouter Beukema, Aldemar A. Acevedo, Patricia A. Burrowes, Tamilie Carvalho, Alessandro Catenazzi, Ignacio De la Riva, Matthew C. Fisher, Sandra V. Flechas, Claire N. Foster, Patricia Frias-Alvarez, Trenton W. J. Garner, Brian Gratwicke, Juan M. Guayasamin, Mareike Hirschfeld, Jonathan E. Kolby, Tiffany A. Kosch, Enrique La Marca, David B. Lindenmayer, Karen R. Lips, Ana V. Longo, Raul Maneyro, Cait A. McDonald, Joseph Mendelson, Pablo Palacios-Rodriguez, Gabriela Parra-Olea, Corinne L. Richards-Zawacki, Mark-Oliver Roedel, Sean M. Rovito, Claudio Soto-Azat, Luis Felipe Toledo, Jamie Voyles, Che Weldon, Steven M. Whitfield, Mark Wilkinson, Kelly R. Zamudio, Stefano Canessa
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Paloma Alvarez-Blanco, Xim Cerda, Abraham Hefetz, Raphael Boulay, Alejandro Berto-Moran, Carmen Diaz-Paniagua, Alain Lenoir, Johan Billen, H. Christoph Liedtke, Kamlesh R. Chauhan, Ganga Bhagavathy, Elena Angulo
Summary: Invasive Argentine ants, despite lacking a functional sting, deploy defensive compounds against competitors and adversaries that can be toxic to native amphibians. Through experiments, researchers found that these ants can spray venom containing iridomyrmecin onto juvenile amphibians, causing toxic effects in the brain, kidney, and liver tissues, which vary depending on the species. This highlights the potential threat these ants pose to amphibians and underscores the need for further exploration of their impacts within their invasive range.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hans Christoph Liedtke, Ewan Harney, Ivan Gomez-Mestre
Summary: Research has uncovered differences in gene expression between two species of spadefoot toads in response to a shared environmental risk, particularly genes related to lipid, cholesterol, and steroid biosynthesis and metabolism. These differences may have played a crucial role in the genetic accommodation of developmental plasticity in this biological system.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
H. Christoph Liedtke, Diego J. Soler-Navarro, Ivan Gomez-Mestre, Simon P. Loader, Mark -Oliver Rodel
Summary: The diversity of African amphibians is underestimated, with many cryptic lineages still awaiting formal description. The Guineo-Congolian rainforest in Central Africa is an important hotspot for amphibian diversification, influenced by geological barriers, habitat changes, and ecological gradients. The Nectophryne tree toads in this region show interesting patterns of diversification, with two closely related species having extensive genetic diversity and similar evolutionary histories.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
V Deepak, Simon T. Maddock, Rhiannon Williams, Zoltan T. Nagy, Werner Conradie, Sara Rocha, D. James Harris, Ana Perera, Vaclav Gvozdik, Thomas M. Doherty-Bone, Rachunliu G. Kamei, Michele Menegon, Jim Labisko, Charles Morel, Natalie Cooper, Julia J. Day, David J. Gower
Summary: The phylogenetic relationships of sub-Saharan African natricine snakes, including the Seychelles endemic Lycognathophis seychellensis, are not well-understood. Genetic analysis suggests a close relationship between L. seychellensis and mainland sub-Saharan natricines, with low genetic variation. The lineage of L. seychellensis is estimated to have dispersed to the Seychelles from mainland Africa approximately 43-25 million years ago, challenging the idea that it is a Gondwanan relic.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Hans Christoph Liedtke, Fernando Cruz, Jessica Gomez-Garrido, Diego Fuentes Palacios, Marina Marcet-Houben, Marta Gut, Tyler Alioto, Toni Gabaldon, Ivan Gomez-Mestre
Summary: Despite being of major interest for ecology, evolution, and conservation, genomic resources for amphibians are lacking in vertebrate genomic research. This study successfully assembled a chromosome-level genome sequence for the western spadefoot toad using multiple sequencing technologies, identified numerous protein-coding genes and gene expansions, and provided an important resource for amphibian genomic research.
Article
Ecology
Kate N. Thomas, David J. Gower, Jeffrey W. Streicher, Rayna C. Bell, Matthew K. Fujita, Ryan K. Schott, H. Christoph Liedtke, Celio F. B. Haddad, C. Guilherme Becker, Christian L. Cox, Renato A. Martins, Ron H. Douglas
Summary: The spectral characteristics of vertebrate ocular lenses shape visual capabilities, with both diurnal activity and scansorial habits influencing lens transmission in amphibians. Shortwave light, including UV, plays an important role in amphibian behavior and ecology, even in the absence of UV-sensitive visual pigments.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
H. Christoph Liedtke, John Lyakurwa, Lucinda P. Lawson, Michele Menegon, Marina Garrido-Priego, Jean Mariaux, Wilirk Ngalason, Alan Channing, Nisha R. Owen, Gabriela B. Bittencourt-Silva, Mark Wilkinson, Joanna G. Larson, Vaclav Gvozdik, Simon P. Loader
Summary: Records of biodiversity are crucial for assessing conservation priorities. However, there is a lack of baseline data for regions of key biodiversity importance. This study focuses on compiling and quantifying amphibian survey efforts in the Ukaguru Mountains in Tanzania over the past 30 years. The results show that although the total species numbers remain low compared to other Eastern Arc Mountains, the surveys frequently recorded new and endemic species. However, there are concerns about the declining population of some endemic species and the increasing deforestation rate in the region.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF HERPETOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Eli Greenbaum, Daniel M. Portik, Kaitlin E. Allen, Eugene R. Vaughan, Gabriel Badjedjea, Michael F. Barej, Mathias Behangana, Nancy Conkey, Bonny Dumbo, Legrand N. Gonwouo, Mareike Hirschfeld, Daniel F. Hughes, Flix Igunzi, Chifundera Kusamba, Wilber Lukwago, Franck M. Masudi, Johannes Penner, Jess M. Reyes, Mark-Oliver Roedel, Corey E. Roelke, Soraya Romero, J. Maximilian Dehling
Summary: This study utilizes molecular and morphological data to revise the taxonomy of the spiny reed frogs. The results suggest that populations from western Central Africa and Equatorial Guinea represent one species, while populations from the Albertine Rift and neighboring forests represent two new undescribed taxa.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lucinda P. Lawson, Simon P. Loader, John V. Lyakurwa, H. Christoph Liedtke
Summary: The spiny-throated reed frog species group is a small radiation of Hyperolius frogs from East Africa. A genetic exploration was conducted to understand the distinctness and relationships of a new lineage found within this group. Through a reduced-representation genome-wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) dataset, the phylogenetic relationships were fully resolved, placing the new lineage as an early diverging lineage within the group.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
H. Christoph Liedtke, John J. Wiens, Ivan Gomez-Mestre
Summary: Amphibians have undergone significant evolutionary transitions in reproductive modes and life-cycles, with different clades exhibiting varying patterns of transition. Reproductive modes are independent of diversification rates.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Zoology
H. Christoph Liedtke, Patrick K. Malonza, Domnick Wasonga, Hendrik Mueller, Simon P. Loader
Summary: The discovery of a new species of toad in Kenya suggests a shared biogeographical history with the Tanzanian mountains and raises questions about the longevity of the Afrotemperate forests in Kenya.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
David Blackburn, Stuart Nielsen, Sonia Ghose, Marius Burger, LeGrand Gonwouo, Eli Greenbaum, Vaclav Gvozdik, Mareike Hirschfeld, Marcel Kouete, Chifundera Kusamba, Dwight Lawson, Patrick McLaughlin, Ange-Ghislain Zassi-Boulou, Mark-Oliver Roedel
Summary: The study presented a well-resolved phylogeny of the African anuran genus Cardioglossa, revealing that most diversification within the genus occurred during the Miocene, with species pairs diverging in the Plio-Pleistocene. Two geographically peripheral species diverged during the mid-late Miocene. The study also found recent divergences between allopatric lineages with distinctive coloration and pattern, raising new questions about the significance of these traits in this poorly understood genus.
ICHTHYOLOGY AND HERPETOLOGY
(2021)
