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August 4, 2006

CEIBA Research, Guyana (Image 5)

Smooth sided toad (Bufo guttatus). This toad is a neotropical species native to Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. It is locally common in these areas except in the Guianas, where it is rare. It is found at elevations from 50 to 860 meters above sea level.

The species is nocturnal and has been found on the ground, close to rivers, or in deep leaf litter on the forest floor in tropical rain forests. The species seems to be associated with mature gallery forests. It breeds in temporary and permanent bodies of water, some dug by the adults; embryonic and larval development occurs in water.

Logging, forest conversion and clear cutting are all threats to this species. It is not tolerant of habitat alteration. However, it has a vast range, and the threats to the species are generally localized. It is sometimes found in the international pet trade, but at levels that do not currently constitute a major threat.

This image was taken as part of research centered at the CEIBA Biological Center, Inc. in Guyana, by Professor Godfrey Bourne of the department of biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Bourne is currently program director of the Behavioral Systems Cluster, Division of Integrative Organismal Biology at the National Science Foundation.

Bourne is personally involved in administrating the CEIBA Biological Center Inc. as a nonprofit research, education and conservation field station in Guyana. Research opportunities for postdoctoral associates, graduate and undergraduate students are available in Guyana on a diversity of organisms.

This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation. [One of several related images. See next image Here.] (Date of Image: 2004-2006)

Credit: Photo by Godfrey R. Bourne

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