Fitness of green frog populations (Rana esculenta complex)

from the lower Danube floodplain

Dan Cogalniceanu

INTRODUCTION

During the study of the amphibian communities inhabiting two islands in the lower
Danube floodplain started in 1994, as part of an intensive research program on the role
and functioning of wetlands, several populations of the Rana esculenta complex were
investigated (COGALNICEANU, CRISTOFOR & VADINEANU, 1997). An important
aspect was the estimation of the physiological state as an indicator of past foraging
success, competition, and ability to cope with environmental pressure. Body condition
was used as a simple, measure of the physiological state, since it is easily calculated
from routinely collected length-weight data and is frequently used by ecologists (e.g.
DENTON & BEEBEE, 1993; JAKOB, MARSHALL & UETZ, 1996).

MATERIALS and METHODS

Green frogs were captured with a torch by night or during the day along various
transects in the studied sites. Two more samples consisting of 59 adults from the Cris
Valley, where floods have little impact, were included for comparisons (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Location of the study sites in the lower Danube floodplain (Sites 1-3) and the
Cris Valley (Site 4).
 Animals were anaestesized with MS 222 Sandoz, measured with dial-callipers with a
precision of 0.1 mm and weighed on a portable electronic balance. Body condition was
estimated with two measures: the ratio index calculated as body weight/body length3
and the relative weight (Wr), calculated only for adults, as the ratio between body
weight and the length-specific standard weight predicted from the equation: Body
weight=-97 +1.92⋅Body length, (n=176, R=0.93, p<0.001), times 100 (LIAO et al.,
1995).

RESULTS
The dynamics of the ratio index during the
year indicates an increase from a low value
in April to a maximum in August (Figure 2
A), the differences between these two
months being significantly different
(Anova, F=5.65, p=0.01, α=0.05). The
ratio index of the two populations from
Site 4 is significantly higher then all the
other three populations from the Danube
floodplain (17.1<F<20.1, p<0.001, α=0.05)
(Figure 2 B), and significantly higher than
the maximum values in August of the
Danube populations. The ratio index from
the population from Site 2, inhabiting
irrigation channels close to the river terrace
is significantly higher from the ones
inhabiting Site 1 (F=12.42, p<0.001,
α=0.05) and Site 3 (F=13.63, p<0.001,
α=0.05), located on islands completely
flooded in spring. These differences
suggest that the prolonged flooding that
characterise the floodplain sites affects the
physiological state through limitations in
food availability and temporary increase of Figure 2 - Dynamics of the ratio index.
local densities during unfavourable conditions. The absence of terrestrial habitats not
flooded in spring appears to be a factor of stress. The comparison of the ratio index for
different age and sex classes indicates that females differ significantly from the rest
(4.53<F<7.98, p<0.03, α=0.05), while the other three categories are very similar (Figure 2
C).
The relative weight index has also
higher values for the two populations in
Site 4 compared with the Danube
floodplain populations (Figure 3A). Its
variation in time, shows a minimum value
in May that increases to a peak in July,
followed by a sharp decrease in autumn
(Figure 3B). The changes in body fluids
prior to hibernation are responsible for
this decrease of the relative weight index.
The relationship between relative
weight and body length is shown in
Figure 4. The individual values from Site
1 tend to be lower than average, while the
proportion of individuals with above
average values is higher in Site 2. The
two populations from Site 4 show a
significant negative correlation between
the relative weight and body length
Figure 3 - Dynamics of the relative weight
in space (A) and time (B).
(n=54, R=-0.62, p<10-6), while the population from Site 1 shows a slight positive
correlation (n=11, R=0.55, p=0.07).
The two indeces used are good indicators of the physiological state of the populations
studied, suggesting a negative influence of prolonged floods combined with the absence of
terrestrial habitats on the fitness and robustness of green frog populations.
 Figure 4 - Relative weight vs. body length in the four populations of Green frogs
studied.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
COGALNICEANU, D., CRISTOFOR, S., VADINEANU, A., 1997. The dynamics of
mphibian communities on two islands of the lower Danube floodplain - Preliminary
results. Herpetologia Bonnensis. BOHME, W., BISCHOFF, W. & ZIEGLER,
T.(eds.).
DENTON, J.S., BEEBEE., T.J., 1993. Density-related features of natterjack toad (Bufo
calamita) populations in Britain. J.Zool., Lond., 229:105-119.
JAKOB, E.M., MARSHALL, S.D., UETZ, G.W., 1996. Estimating fitness: a comparison
of body condition indices. Oikos, 77:61-67.
LIAO, H., et al., 1995. Relative weight (Wr) as a field assessment tool: relationships with
growth, prey biomass, and environmental conditions. Trans.American Fish.Soc.,
124:387-400.
Dan Cogalniceanu Bucharest University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Ecology,
Splaiul Independentei 91-95, 76201 - Bucharest, Romania.