There is no clear empirical evidence to support the general assumption that genetic diversity favours successful invasions. Many invading species disperse and establish successfully despite low diversity, a phenomenon known as paradox of biological invasion. Model systems allow comparison patterns between exotic native source populations are still scarce. This particularly true for amphibians. ...

Recently, microbiologists have focused on characterizing the probiotic role of skin bacteria for amphibians threatened by the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. However, the specific characteristics of microbial diversity required to maintain health or trigger disease are still not well understood in natural populations. We hypothesized that seasonal and developmental transitions affecting suscep...

Dolomedes sulfurous and Dolomedes mizhoanus are predaceous arthropods catching and feeding on small fish. They live in the same area and have similar habits. Their venoms exhibit some similarities and differences in biochemical and electrophysiological properties. In the present work, we first performed a transcriptomic analysis by constructing the venom gland cDNA library of D. sulfurous and 1...

A new species of frog of the genus Pristimantis is described from a montane forest between 1700 and 1800 m a.s.l. of the Pui Pui Protected Forest (Región Junín) in central Peru. Pristimantis ashaninkasp. n. is described based on five adult females (snout-vent length 23.1-26.7 mm) and ten juveniles (snout-vent length 10.6-13.4). It differs from its congeners by having the skin on dorsum shagreen...