Sandra Goutte
Research
I am an evolutionary biologist interested in the origins and diversification of phenotypic traits. My research integrates systematics, behavioral ecology, phylogenetics, and genomics to investigate the processes shaping biological diversity. By combining field, museum, and laboratory approaches, I examine how environmental factors interact with physiology and genomic architecture to drive evolutionary change. My current research focuses on the evolution of color traits in reptiles and amphibians.
Publications
Adnew W, Habtamu T, Atickem A, Goutte S, Kassie A, Boissinot S, Zinner D. (2026) Frog Diversity in Chebera Churchura National Park, South-Western Ethiopia. Diversity. doi.org/10.3390/d18040199
Lawson LP, Goutte S, Liedtke HC (2026) Whole-genome sequence of the African Common Reed Frog (Hyperolius viridiflavus viridiflavus) from Ethiopia. G3 Genes | Genomes | Genetics. doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkaf257
Goutte S, Boissinot S. (2025) Long-term evolutionary persistence of a cryptic color polymorphism in frogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2425898122
Torres-Sánchez M, Goutte S, Liedtke HC, Allain SJR, Ahammed S., Calatayud N, Comeault A, Elmer K, Eterovick PC, Gilbert E, Guayasamin JM , Hernández Poveda M, Kotharambath R, Lechuga Paredes P, Mahapatra C, Nadaline J, Najafi-Majd E, Pollet N, Rubio AO, Placido Sachslehner A, Sanz Sobrino L, Siu-Ting K, Snead AA, Strowbridge N, Themudo G, Vivas-Barreto D, Wogan GOU, Wollenberg Valero KC, The Amphibian Genomics Consortium. (2025) Comparative biology needs de novo transcriptome assemblies: drawing attention towards amphibians. Amphibia-Reptilia 46:283-401.
Kosch TA, Torres-Sánchez M, Liedtke HC et al. (2024) The Amphibian Genomics Consortium: advancing genomic and genetic resources for amphibian research and conservation. BMC Genomics. 25: 1025. doi.org/10.1186/s12864-024-10899-7
Lyra ML, Kirchhof Adnew W, Habtamu T, Atickem A, Goutte S, Kassie A, Boissinot S, Zinner D. (2026) Frog Diversity in Chebera Churchura National Park, South-Western Ethiopia. Diversity. doi.org/10.3390/d18040199
Lyra ML, Kirchhof S, Goutte S, Kassie A, Boissinot S. (2023) Crossing the Rift valley: using complere mitogenomes to infer the diversification and biogeographic history of Ethiopian Highlands Ptychadena (Anura: Ptychadenidae). Frontiers in Genetics. vol. 14. doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2023.1215715
Goutte S. (2023) Vocal communication in anurans, in: Evolutionary Ecology of Amphibians. Editors: Moreno-Rueda G, Comas, M. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group. doi.org/10.1201/9781003093312
Kassie A, Simegn AB, Bogale BA, Goutte S, Boissinot S. (2023) Diversity, distribution, and habitat association of anuran species form Keffa, Southwest Ethiopia. Diversity. 15(2): 300. doi.org/10.3390/d15020300.
Goutte S, Hariyani I, Utzinger KD, Bourgeois Y, Boissinot S. (2022) Genomic analyses reveals association of ASIP with a recurrently-evolving color pattern in frogs. Molecular Biology and Evolution. doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msac235
Goutte S, Reyes-Velasco J, Kassie A, Boissinot S. (2022) Mitogenomics of historical type specimens clarifies the taxonomy of the Ethiopian Leptopelis gramineus species complex (Anura: Arthroleptidae). Zookeys. 1128:63-97. doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1128.82176
Reyes-Velasco J*, Goutte S*, Freilich X, Boissinot S (2021) Mitogenomics of historical type specimens clarifies the taxonomy of Ethiopian Ptychadena (Anura: Ptychadenidae). Zookeys 1070:135-149. doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1070.66598 *joint first authorship
Goutte S*, Reyes Velasco J*, Freilich X, Kassie A, Boissinot S (2021) Taxonomic revision of grass frogs (Ptychadenidae, Ptychadena) endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. Zookeys 1016: 77-141. doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1016.59699 *joint first authorship
Muñoz MI*, Goutte S*, Ryan MJ, Halfwerk W (2020) Environmental and morphological constraints interact to drive the evolution of communication signals in frogs. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 33(12): 1749-1757. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13713 *joint first authorship
Kime N, Goutte S, Ryan MJ, (2020) Arginine vasotocin affects vocal behavior but not selective responses to conspecific calls in male túngara frogs. Hormone and Behavior 128: 104891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104891
Goutte S, Muñoz MI, Ryan MJ, Halfwerk W (2020) Floating frogs sound larger: environmental constraints on signal production drives call frequency changes. The Science of Nature 107: 41. doi: 10.1007/s00114-020-01697-8
Tonini JF, Provete DB, Maciel NM, Ribeiro Morais A, Goutte S, Toledo LF, Pyron RA (2020) Allometric escape from acoustic constraints is rare for frog calls. Ecology and Evolution 10(8): 3686-3695. doi:10.1002/ece3.6155
Goutte S, Mason MJ, Antoniazzi MM, Jared C, Merle D, Cazes L, Toledo LF, el-Hafci H, Pallu S, Portier H, Schramm S, Gueriau P, Thoury M (2019) Intense bone fluorescence reveals hidden patterns in pumpkin toadlets. Scientific Reports 9: 5388. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41959-8
Goutte S, Reyes-Velasco J, Boissinot S (2019) A new species of puddle frog from an unexplored mountain in southwestern Ethiopia (Anura, Phrynobatrachidae, Phrynobatrachus). ZooKeys 824: 53–70. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.824.31570
Halfwerk W, Blaas M, Kramer L, Hijner N, Trillo PA, Bernal XE, Page RA, Goutte S, Ryan MJ, Ellers J (2019) Adaptive changes in sexual signalling in response to urbanization. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3: 374. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0751-8
Desutter-Grandcolas L, Hugel S, Goutte S, Robillard T (2018) Reflections on the growing use of sounds in systematics and synecology: why an acoustic signal cannot become an onomatophore. Bionomina 13: 28–36. doi: 10.11646/bionomina.13.1.2
Goutte S., Dubois A, Howard SD, Marquez R, Rowley J, Dehling M, Grandcolas P, Rongchuan X, Legendre F (2017) How the environment shapes animal signals: a test of the Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. DOI:10.1111/jeb.13210.
Goutte S, Mason M, Christensen-Dalsgaard J, Montealegre-Z F, Chivers BD, Sarria-S F, Antoniazzi M, Jared C, Almeida Sato L, Toledo LF (2017) Evidence of auditory insensitivity to vocalisation frequencies in two frogs. Scientific Reports 7:12121.
Amiet J-L, Goutte S (2017) Chants d’Amphibiens du Cameroun. Eds. Petit Génie 281 pp., 4 CDs.
Goutte S, Ahmad Sah H, Grafe TU (2017) Environmental correlates of species richness and composition of riparian anuran communities in rainforests of north-western Borneo: a metacommunity perspective. The Herpetological journal 26: 25-32.
Mota MS, dos Reis JC, Goutte S, Santanché A (2016) Multiscaling a Graph-based Dataspace. Journal of Information and Data Management 7(1): 1-16.
Goutte S., Dubois A, Howard SD, Marquez R, Rowley J, Dehling M, Grandcolas P, Rongchuan X, Legendre F (2016) Environmental constraints and call evolution in torrent-dwelling frogs. Evolution 70(4): 811-826.
Goutte S, Dubois A, Legendre F (2013) The importance of ambient sound level to characterise anuran habitat. PLoS ONE 8(10): e78020. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078020.
Marshall MC, Binderup AJ, Zandonà E, Goutte S, Bassar RD, El-Sabaawi R.,Thomas SA, Flecker AS, Kilham SS, Reznick DN, Pringle CM (2012) Effects of consumer interactions on benthic resources and ecosystem processes in a neotropical stream. PLoS ONE 7(9): e45230. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045230.
Goutte S., Kime N.M., Argo T.F. and Ryan M.J. (2010) Calling strategies of male túngara frogs in response to dynamic playback. Behaviour 147: 65-83.
Grafe T.U., Goutte S., Ahmadsah H.H., Konopik O., Scharmann M., Bauer U. (2010) Updated checklist of the amphibians of the Ulu Temburong National Park and Brunei Darussalam. Scientia Bruneiana 11: 53-59.