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Wiki Education assignment: Behavioral Ecology 2022
edit
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 30 August 2022 and 9 December 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): I Bet on Losing Frogs (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Elwhoelwu, Qazwsx1515, Jsun2148.
— Assignment last updated by Eurquhart02 (talk) 22:51, 10 November 2022 (UTC)
Lead section
editI thought that the lead section lacked information so I added extra information to it.
"This frog has a brown colored dorsum and a white ventral side with irregular white specks on its dark brown throat and chest.[1] Its smooth skin and cryptic coloration allow it to blend into its surroundings while resting or calling.[2] The males of the species are territorial, and will use calling and foot tapping, and foot flagging to warn off competition. [3]M. saxicolais is described by the IUCN as a vulnerable species due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and human interference.[4]The frog also threatened by the infection by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.[5]" Qazwsx1515 (talk) 21:29, 15 November 2022 (UTC)
References
- ^ Gururaja, Kotambylu Vasudeva (2010-10-12). "Novel reproductive mode in a torrent frog Micrixalus saxicola (Jerdon) from the Western Ghats, India". Zootaxa. 2642 (1): 45. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2642.1.4. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ^ Pillai, R. S. (1986-12-01). "Amphibian Fauna of Silent Valley, Kerala, S. India". Records of the Zoological Survey of India. 84 (1–4): 229. doi:10.26515/rzsi/v84/i1-4/1986/161095. ISSN 2581-8686.
- ^ Krishna, Sharath; Krishna, Savitha (2006-01-01). "Visual and acoustic communication in an endemic stream frog, Micrixalus saxicolus in the Western Ghats, India". Amphibia-Reptilia. 27 (1): 143–147. doi:10.1163/156853806776052056. ISSN 1568-5381.
- ^ Daniels, R. J. Ranjit (June 10, 1991). "The problem of conserving amphibians in the Western Ghats, India". Current Science. 60 (11): 630–632. ISSN 0011-3891.
- ^ Molur, S; Krutha, K; Paingankar, Ms; Dahanukar, N (2015-01-15). "Asian strain of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is widespread in the Western Ghats, India". Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 112 (3): 251–255. doi:10.3354/dao02804. ISSN 0177-5103.
Changed location of information
editI think the sentence "While M. saxicola is often found on rocks in the middle of torrents or streams, they have been observed to move away from the torrents during the height of the monsoon season to avoid being swept away by the current." belongs more in the section on behavior rather than the section on the description. Qazwsx1515 (talk) 21:32, 15 November 2022 (UTC)
Potential new section on predators/parasites
editI think there could potentially be a new section on predators or parasites which could include the Nyctibatrachus major or even the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis that seem to enemies of this frog species. Qazwsx1515 (talk) 21:37, 15 November 2022 (UTC)
Added subheadings about adult and tadpole in the description section
editI think the addition of these two subheadings helps make the description section more clear and organized presenting the information better.
Peer Review
editI think that all the last sentences should have citations on it. If there are no citations on the last sentence, it is not clear where the information is coming from. Specifically, the last sentence of the “Habitat and distribution” section mentions a 2001 study that was not cited.
I deleted the sentence “Only the female is involved in spawning” because this is biologically redundant. Only female frogs can spawn, and thus it is not necessary to restate.
In accordance with the outline provided by Professor Straussman, I moved the section about disease from the “Threats and conservation” to its own section under “Diseases.” In the process I also renamed the original section “Conservation.”
Overall, all the information found on the article is clear and well presented. It does not require a significant number of changes apart from apart from minor citation clarifications. Jsun2148 (talk) 00:30, 18 November 2022 (UTC)
Peer Review
editLead
“and will use calling and, foot tapping, and foot flagging to warn off competition”
“habitat loss, fragmentation, and human interference.” Personal thing have no idea if it’s true but listing human interference as an item in the list may suggest the former are not human caused?
“The frog also threatened by the infection by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.”
Description
“25 to 30 mm, or 1 to 2 inches”’ nice use of unit conversion
“with a medium dark yellow”
“on the surfaces of rocks.”
“have a light gray webbing” also, this sentence could be broken up because the list is not parallel https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/parallel_structure.html
“the hind limbs are fully webbed” not sure if limbs are webbed
“webbing, and it has small subarticular tubercles and a small inner metatarsal tubercle.” Cut into two sentences at webbing?
“This species can be distinguished from similar and closely related frogs, such as Micrixalus kottigeharensis and Micrixalus specca, by the equal lengths of its thigh and shank, fully webbed toes, lingual papillae on the median line of its tongue, the lack of dorsolateral falls, and the size difference between males and females.” Could be editted because of lack of parallel structure
Removed excess paragraphs (enter/return)
Added links to jargon
Format the three images of frogs and add captions
Habitat and Distribution
“Reports indicate this frog is typically found at altitudes between 11° and 14°N and at elevations” not sure altitude is measured in degrees
“forests, and can”
“torrential streams,. lLeaf litter” made into 2 sentences
Behavior
“found attached on flat” word choice and consistency
Removed “While M. saxicola is often found on rocks in the middle of torrents or streams” redundant
“Chir… chir… chir… chir… ri… ri… ri… ri ri..” Use International Phonetic Alphabet or audio recording over this
“known vocalizations interactions.” Interactions involve female frogs
“frequent and rounder foot-flagging” rounder is not intuitive, explain
“on top of their intruders’ heads”
“Intruding males will foot-flag” consistency
“2 cm x 2 cm x 2 cm underwater, subterranean” obvious
Added citation needed for 154 egg fact
Really well done, everything made sense, it was evident you reread this at least once :) Elwhoelwu (talk) 00:52, 28 November 2022 (UTC)