Fluctuation in Abundance and Age Structure of a Breeding Population of the Japanese Brown Frog, Rana japonica Günther (Amphibia, Anura)

Marunouchi, Junsuke; Kusano, Tamotsu; Ueda, Hiroaki

doi:10.2108/zsj.19.343

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In the study, the maximum age recorded for both populations was 3 years in males and 4 years in females. Similar life spans have been reported in other anurans, such as R. sylvatica (Sagor et al 1998), R. japonica (Marunouchi et al 2002) and R. latastei (Guarino et al 2003). In both populations, longevity of females was greater than males.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Age structure and body size of two populations of the rice frogRana limnocharisfrom different altitudes

Liao

Lü

Shen

et al. 2011

Italian Journal of Zoology

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Identifying the patterns of body size and age in relation to altitudes may help us to understand the evolution of life history of organisms. With this view, we compared the demographic traits of a subtropical frog, Rana limnocharis, between populations from southwestern China located at two altitudes (310 and 800 m) with distinct mean annual temperature (17.1°C and 15.2°C). Overall, frogs from the higher altitude tended to be significantly larger in body size. Within each population, adult females were markedly larger and older than males. However, average age between high altitude and low altitude was not strongly different within each sex. There were significant relationships between age and body size within each sex in both altitudes. ANCOVAs revealed that body size within sexes differed significantly between altitudes when the effect of age was removed. Our findings suggest that factors other than age may contribute to differences in body size between altitudes, such as air temperature and breeding season length.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Age structure and body size of two populations of the rice frogRana limnocharisfrom different altitudes

Liao

Lü

Shen

et al. 2011

Italian Journal of Zoology

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“…R. japonica breeds in a variety of ephemeral ponds and pools (e.g., still water in rice fields, marshes, and small pools). Females of R. japonica appear to lay 1 clutch per breeding season (Marunouchi et al 2002), and clutches are laid in globular masses of 500-3,000 eggs. Depending on water temperature, eggs hatch 1-2 weeks after being laid.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The choice of oviposition site and the effects of density and oviposition timing on survivorship in Rana japonica

Matsushima

Kawata

2004

Ecological Research

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In species that lack parental care and whose larvae are restricted to a given space throughout development, choice of egg-laying or reproductive sites often greatly influences fitness. Furthermore, reproductive success of individuals may be affected not only by conditions of the breeding area but also by the time when they start to breed, because intraspecific variation in the timing of breeding may result in asymmetric competition between larvae. We addressed these issues in an experimental and field study of the Japanese brown frog, Rana japonica. We tested whether the survival success of larvae decreased with an increase in the number of deposited egg masses and with a greater delay in oviposition. We found that the number of egg masses and timing of oviposition together significantly predicted larval survival per clutch. Moreover, we observed the natural oviposition of R. japonica to examine the prediction that if the density of larvae and the timing of oviposition affect survivorship of larvae, R. japonica will avoid depositing eggs in pools in which egg masses have already been deposited. We found that for small pools only, R. japonica tended to favor oviposition at unoccupied pools (those lacking egg masses and larvae) in the spawning season. For large pools, however, adults favored those already occupied by egg masses in the spawning period. The density of egg masses and tadpoles or the timing of oviposition may have less effect on spawning or the survival of tadpoles in large pools than in small pools.

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“…Age-specific survivorship has been associated with changes in adult abundance of many species of frogs. For example, a population of Rana japonica suffered a decrease in the number of breeding individuals following habitat disturbance (Marunouchi et al 2002); and occasional, catastrophic spates of adult mortality are known in populations of Lithobates catesbeianus, L. clamitans, and L. septentrionalis (Shirose and Brooks 1995). Fowler's Toads at Long Point inhabit the unstable, sandy coast of a huge and dynamic lake.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult Age-Structure Variability in an Amphibian in Relation to Population Decline

Middleton

Green

2015

Herpetologica

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Animal populations that normally fluctuate in size in response to stochastic environmental events might be subject to unsustainably high mortality rates in the face of progressive habitat loss or degradation. This should perturb the population's age-structure in predictable ways if the increase in mortality is age-or stage-specific (i.e., a decline in recruitment should result in a progressively older adult population, whereas a decline in adult survivorship should result in a progressively younger adult population). We used skeletochronology to ascertain the ages of adult individuals in a population of Fowler's Toads, Anaxyrus (5 Bufo) fowleri, over 20 yr, spanning a period of regulated population fluctuation from 1992 to 2002 and a period of sustained population decline thereafter until 2011. Age structure was similar between sexes, but was highly variable during both periods. Although there was no temporal trend detected in average age among 420 toads during the predecline period, 1992-2000, there was an increase in average age among 469 toads during the decline period, 2002-2011, with no significant change in adult survivorship. This evidence of an aging population is consistent with a reduction in recruitment in the population, related to the progressive loss of breeding habitat caused by an invasive plant, demonstrating that amphibian populations may be threatened with decline even when mortal threats to adults have not increased.

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Fluctuation in Abundance and Age Structure of a Breeding Population of the Japanese Brown Frog, Rana japonica Günther (Amphibia, Anura)

Cited by 18 publications

References 24 publications

Age structure and body size of two populations of the rice frogRana limnocharisfrom different altitudes

Age structure and body size of two populations of the rice frogRana limnocharisfrom different altitudes

The choice of oviposition site and the effects of density and oviposition timing on survivorship in Rana japonica

Adult Age-Structure Variability in an Amphibian in Relation to Population Decline

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