Freezing tolerance of the European water frogs: the good, the bad, and the ugly

2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (6) ◽  
pp. R1563-R1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Voituron ◽  
Pierre Joly ◽  
Michel Eugène ◽  
Hervé Barré
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Rana Esculenta ◽  
Rana Ridibunda ◽  
European Water ◽  
Water Frogs ◽  
European Water Frogs ◽  
Mass Accumulation ◽  
Rana Lessonae

Survival and some physiological responses to freezing were investigated in three European water frogs ( Rana lessonae, Rana ridibunda, and their hybridogen Rana esculenta). The three species exhibited different survival times during freezing (from 10 h for R. lessonae to 20 h for R. ridibunda). The time courses of percent water frozen were similar; however, because of the huge differences in body mass among species (from 10 g for Rana lessonae to nearly 100 g for Rana ridibunda), the ice mass accumulation rate varied markedly (from 0.75 ± 0.12 to 1.43 ± 0.11 g ice/h, respectively) and was lowest in the terrestrial hibernator Rana lessonae. The hybrid Rana esculenta exhibited an intermediate response between the two parental species; furthermore, within-species correlation existed between body mass and ice mass accumulation rates, suggesting the occurrence of subpopulations in this species (0.84 ± 0.08 g ice/h for small R. esculenta and 1.78 ± 0.09 g ice/h for large ones). Biochemical analyses showed accumulation of blood glucose and lactate, liver glucose (originating from glycogen), and liver alanine in Rana lessonae and Rana esculenta but not in Rana ridibunda in response to freezing. The variation of freeze tolerance between these three closely related species could bring understanding to the physiological processes involved in the evolution of freeze tolerance in vertebrates.

RAPD identification of north European water frogs

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor J.C. Beebee ◽  
Inga Zeisset
Keyword(s):  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification ◽  
Bufo Bufo ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
European Water ◽  
Water Frogs ◽  
Reaction Amplification ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
European Water Frogs ◽  
Rana Lessonae

AbstractA technique for the identification of north European water frogs (Rana lessonae, R. ridibunda and R. esculenta) based on PCR (polymerase chain reaction)-amplification of DNA using random primers (RAPD) is presented. The method requires very small amounts (< 2 mg) of tissue and reliably distinguished the three types of frogs using samples taken from two widely separate localities (Britain and Poland). In addition, the primers distinguished the DNA of water frogs from that of a brown frog (R. temporaria) and from that of two toad species (Bufo bufo and B. calamita).

scholarly journals Water frogs (Rana esculenta complex) in Serbia: Morphological data

2008 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.I. Krizmanic
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Rana Esculenta ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Parent Species ◽  
Rana Ridibunda ◽  
Water Frog ◽  
Water Frogs ◽  
Complex Population ◽  
Rana Esculenta Complex ◽  
Rana Lessonae

The main purpose of this paper was to estimate morphometric variability of the water frog (Rana synklepton esculenta complex) population in Serbia. Altogether, 396 water frogs were collected at 15 localities in Serbia and analyzed using principal components for 18 selected indices, in addition to which correspondent analyses were conducted for 30 qualitative external morphological traits. The results showed that the population samples were heterogeneous and included three separate forms (Rana ridibunda, Rana lessonae and Rana kl. esculenta). Significant interspecific differ?ences were found between R. ridibunda and R. lessonae, which are clearly distinct from each other. Rana kl. esculenta specimens were in an intermediate position between R. ridibunda and R. lessonae, with values more similar to the R. ridibunda parent species.

scholarly journals Variability of NOR patterns in European water frogs of different genome composition and ploidy level

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Zaleśna ◽  
Maria Florek ◽  
Mariusz Rybacki ◽  
Maria Ogielska
Keyword(s):  
Ploidy Level ◽  
Genome Composition ◽  
European Water ◽  
Water Frogs ◽  
European Water Frogs

Body size variation in hybrids among populations of European water frogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex) with different breeding systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-371
Author(s):  
Adam Hermaniuk ◽  
Magdalena Czajkowska ◽  
Anetta Borkowska ◽  
Jan R.E. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Parental Species ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
European Water ◽  
Water Frogs ◽  
Population Type ◽  
Pelophylax Esculentus ◽  
European Water Frogs

Abstract In some populations, hybrids reproduce with a parental species by eliminating the genome of this species from their own germline and produce gametes that only contain the genome of the other parental species (sexual host). This mode of reproduction, known as hybridogenesis, leads to a conflict of interest between the two parties because the sexual host should avoid mating with the hybrid to prevent a reduction in reproductive success, whereas the hybrid depends on such matings for survival. We investigated European water frogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex), including hybrids (P. esculentus, genotype LR) and two sexual host species (P. lessonae, LL and P. ridibundus, RR). We hypothesized that to maximize fitness, hybrid males should be morphologically more similar to the sexual host that is preferred by females for successful reproduction. To test this hypothesis, we compared hybrid males in two different population types, L-E (hybrids coexist with LL) and L-E-R (hybrids coexist with both LL and RR). The latter was described in terms of genome composition, sex ratio, and mate choice preferences; the sex ratio of hybrids was significantly male-biased. We found that LR males from the L-E-R populations were significantly larger than those from the L-E, which makes them more similar to P. ridibundus, the largest species within the P. esculentus complex. We suggest that a larger body size of hybrid males may provide a reproductive advantage in the L-E-R population type, where the most common type of pair caught in the breeding season was LR males × RR females.

scholarly journals Survival in adults of the water frogRana lessonaeand its hybridogenetic associateRana esculenta

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 652-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Katherina Holenweg Peter
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rates ◽  
Rana Esculenta ◽  
High Survival ◽  
Mark Recapture ◽  
Water Frogs ◽  
Species Survival ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Autumn And Winter ◽  
Source Of Error ◽  
Rana Lessonae

Using recent developments in capture–mark–recapture modelling, I analysed survival rates of adults of two species of water frogs, the parent species Rana lessonae and its sexual parasite, the hybrid Rana esculenta. Frogs were caught in four different breeding ponds between 1995 and 1998 and the effects of genotype (= species), sex, pond, and time on survival rates and recapture probabilities were tested. Survival rates were consistently higher in R. lessonae than in R. esculenta. Recapture probability was higher in males than in females. In both species, survival rates were constant during spring and summer and similar in all years of the investigation, average monthly survival rates being lower than those during autumn and winter. The variation in annual survival rates (72–84% for R. lessonae and 53–70% for R. esculenta) is probably caused by differences in winter survival rates. Capture–mark–recapture models cannot separate mortality and emigration and hence usually underestimate survival rates. To eliminate this source of error, I quantified emigration, which ranged from 0 to 29% at the four ponds. After correcting for these emigration rates, I found no differences in survival rates among the four ponds. The overall high survival rates of adult R. lessonae compared with R. esculenta partially compensate for the hybrid's initial reproductive advantage in terms of mating, fertility, and larval development and, hence, contribute to stabilising mixed populations.

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