Latitudinal divergence of common frog ( Rana temporaria ) life history traits by natural selection: evidence from a comparison of molecular and quantitative genetic data

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1963-1978 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. U. Palo ◽  
R. B. O'Hara ◽  
A. T. Laugen ◽  
A. Laurila ◽  
C. R. Primmer ◽  
...  
2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 926-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anssi Laurila ◽  
Pierre-André Crochet ◽  
Juha Merilä

As mortality due to predation is often high at early independent life stages in many animals, it can be expected that predation-induced modifications of early life history and morphology will be common when predation risk varies spatially or temporally. However, studies of such effects are still rare. Predation-induced changes in life history and morphology have often been described in amphibian larvae, but the focus has been on older larvae and little is known about responses of hatchlings or very young larvae. We examined whether predator presence influenced timing of hatching and hatchling morphology in the common frog, Rana temporaria. In a paired design, eggs from 10 clutches were allowed to develop from fertilization to hatching, with or without the nonlethal presence of a larva of the large diving beetle Dytiscus marginalis. We found no evidence that predator presence affected timing of hatching. However, hatchlings raised in the presence of the predator had relatively shorter bodies and deeper tail fins than their full-sibs raised in the absence of the predator, indicating that predation induces morphological responses in R. temporaria hatchlings. This is one of the very few studies showing that predators, or chemical cues released during a predation event, can induce a plastic morphological changes in vertebrates at very early life stages.


Copeia ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 1962 (3) ◽  
pp. 667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Zweifel ◽  
R. Maxwell Savage

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Vodrážková ◽  
Irena Šetlíková ◽  
Josef Navrátil ◽  
Michal Berec

The presence of a predator affects prey populations either by direct predation or by modifying various parts of their life history. We investigated whether the hatching time, developmental stage, and body size at hatching of common frog (Rana temporaria) embryos would be altered in the presence of a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) as a predator. The presence of a predator affected all factors examined. We found that in the absence of the slider, the embryos hatched in 12 days, while hatching was accelerated by two days when sliders were present. At the same time, the embryos hatched smaller and at a lower stage of development with the slider than without it. Our study extends the range of predators studied, including the effect on different phases of development of potential amphibian prey.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-194
Author(s):  
Georgy A. Lada ◽  
V. Y. Nedosekin

A small isolated population of tesselated snake, Natrix tesselata was found in the Upper Don (Lipetsk Region, Russia). It is the first record of this species in the Central Chernozem Territory of Russia, which is separated from the northern border of the main range by the distance of about 200 km. An isolated population of common frog, Rana temporaria and phenetically peculiar population of fire-bellied toad, Bombina bombina are found here too. Faunistic aspect of new herpetological records is discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Boissinot ◽  
Pierre Grillet ◽  
Aurélien Besnard ◽  
Olivier Lourdais

Traditional farming landscape in western Europe is made of a complex mosaic of pastures, cultures, ponds and hedgerows connected with woods. Previous observations in the common frog species suggest that lowland populations are closely associated to wood cover and our aim was to test the validity of this assumption. We studied common frog occurrence and abundance in western central France (Deux-Sèvres department) close to the southern margin of lowland distribution. Our results pointed out that the proportion of woods surface around sampled areas (1 ha) was a critical determinant of common frog presence and abundance. Extensive farming, which maintains a mosaic of small woods, may provide a robust conservation tool for this species.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document