The roles of temperature and humidity in shaping diurnal retreat site occupation and short-term movements in amphibians in desert environments have scarcely been studied. In this work, we investigated retreats and movements in the painted frog () that inhabits oases in arid southern Tunisia, by using a composite temperature-humidity index (THI). Our results show non-random occupation of retreat sites with respect to prevailing temperature-humidity conditions. When leaving retreat sites with THI values above or below their preferred levels, painted frogs tended to move to sites with THI levels more similar to their preferred conditions. We also found that large individuals tended to occupy retreat sites offering similar THI levels, while small individuals moved between sites with very different THI levels, a pattern that could be driven by age-dependent experience. However, there was no significant relationship between the distance moved by painted frogs and the magnitude of the change in the THI between occupied sites. In summary, our findings evidence the role of temperature-humidity conditions in shaping the patterns of diurnal retreat site use in an arid zone amphibian. They also underline the usefulness of composite temperature-humidity indices when assessing amphibian-habitat relationships.

中文翻译：

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绿洲蛙的撤退地点占用和短期运动与温湿度条件的关系

温度和湿度在沙漠环境中两栖动物昼夜撤退地点占据和短期运动中的作用几乎没有被研究过。在这项工作中，我们利用复合温度-湿度指数 (THI) 调查了栖息在突尼斯南部干旱绿洲的彩蛙 () 的撤退和运动。我们的结果显示，在当时的温度-湿度条件下，撤退地点的占用是非随机的。当离开 THI 值高于或低于其首选水平的撤退地点时，彩绘青蛙倾向于迁移到 THI 水平与其首选条件更相似的地点。我们还发现，体型较大的个体倾向于占据提供相似 THI 水平的隐居地点，而体型较小的个体则在 THI 水平截然不同的地点之间移动，这种模式可能是由年龄相关的经验驱动的。然而，彩绘青蛙移动的距离与占据地点之间的 THI 变化幅度之间没有显着关系。总之，我们的研究结果证明了温度-湿度条件在塑造干旱区两栖动物昼夜休养地利用模式中的作用。他们还强调了复合温度-湿度指数在评估两栖动物-栖息地关系时的有用性。