Age Structure, Body Size, and Sexual Dimorphism in a High-Altitude Population of Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771)

This study aimed to describe the morphological characteristics and age structure of a P. ridibundus population sampled from a high altitude. For this purpose, a total of 54 adult frogs (33 males and 21 females) were collected from Şavşat district, Artvin province, Türkiye. The samples were aged base...

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Published inAnimals (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 22; p. 3230
Main Authors Gül, Serkan, Dursun, Cantekin, Tabak, Ceren, Büyüksofuoğlu, Sümeyye, Özdemir, Nurhayat
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 01.11.2024
MDPI
Subjects
Age
Altitude
Amphibians
Anatolia
Body weight
Females
Frogs
Habitats
life history
Males
marsh frog
Morphology
Population biology
Population decline
Reptiles & amphibians
shape
Variables
von Bertalanffy
weight
Iran
Turkey
marsh frog
weight
Anatolia
von Bertalanffy
shape
life history
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ISSN2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI10.3390/ani14223230

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Summary:This study aimed to describe the morphological characteristics and age structure of a P. ridibundus population sampled from a high altitude. For this purpose, a total of 54 adult frogs (33 males and 21 females) were collected from Şavşat district, Artvin province, Türkiye. The samples were aged based on skeletochronology method. Furthermore, von Bertalanffy growth curve models were constructed using SVL and weight data. To assess sexual size and shape dimorphism, the measurements of 23 different morphological characters were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. The mean SVL and weight were found to be 78.05 mm and 60.87 g for males and 93.95 mm and 109.61 g for females. The mean age was 3.67 years and 4.05 years for males and females, respectively. The maximum age was found to be 6 years for both sexes. Growth curve models revealed a significant relationship between age, SVL, and weight. A clear female-biased sexual size dimorphism was found in all morphological characters. However, SVL-adjusted values indicated that males had larger head and limb structures resulting from evolutional and sexual pressures associated with reproduction and male–male competition. The shape dimorphism was found only in forelimbs, and it was male-biased and was related to clasping in amplexus.
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ISSN:2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI:10.3390/ani14223230