Morphometric differentiation of the moor frog (Rana arvalis Nilss.) in Central Europe

Abstract

Morphometric variation of 11 characters was studied in 14 samples of Rana arvalis from allopatric population groups in Central Europe, representing two subspecies formerly recognised: R. a. arvalis and R. a. wolterstorffi. All samples from Poland (nine) were collected from the area, which is believed to be populated by the nominal form. In addition, the isolated population of R. arvalis from the Eastern Carpathians of Romania was classified to that form. All the Hungarian samples fall into the range of R. a. wolterstorffi. No significant differences in body size between sexes and among the populations from the three geographic regions (Poland, Hungary and Romanian Eastern Carpathians) were found. Multivariate analysis of the differences in body shape among groups showed that the populations from Hungary differed from the nominal form mainly in the relative hindlimb length. However, substantial overlap in overall shape differences resulted in a relatively low percentage of correct classifications to the respective geographic groups in the Discriminant Analysis. Large intrapopulation variation in the values of the two ratios (SVL/TL and TL/IMT) formerly used for differentiate the two European subspecies of R. arvalis makes them unreliable characters for distinguishing the two forms. The pattern of morphometric variation does not match the overall genetic divergence of the R. arvalis populations, which suggests that the body shape differences in this species result from the phenotypic plasticity correlated with local climatic factors.

Mitochondrial phylogeography of the moor frog, Rana arvalis

“…We did not find any evidence that the ranges of the two latter forms are characterized by distinct mitochondrial lineages. Although additional data from nuclear genes would be highly desirable, we assume tentatively that their morphological differentiation is largely the result of variable ecological conditions as suggested for Central European populations (Babik & Rafiński 2000). The case of R. a. wolterstorffi is more complicated.…”

“…The case of R. a. wolterstorffi is more complicated. The unexpected pattern of mtDNA variation in the CB, discordant with the results from allozymes (Rafiński & Babik 2000), together with high morphological variablity (Babik & Rafiński 2000), preclude drawing firm conclusions concerning the taxonomic status of these populations, but suggest strongly that populations from the CB harbouring the high mitochondrial and morphological diversity should be a focus of conservation effort.…”

Morphometric variation in the Tunisian green frog, Rana saharica Anura: Ranidae)

“…Earlier studies of geographic variation in amphibians have addressed variation in morphological characters. Babik & Rafinski (2000) claimed that morphological differentiation of frogs involves mainly differences in body proportions, which is a phenotypically plastic trait and shows clinal variation parallel to the variation in climatic change. The use of molecular techniques to assess the degree of genetic differentiation among subspecies of Tritrus cristatus -described by Kalezic et al (1990) on the basis of subtle differences in body sizeshowed a higher level of differentiation and all subspecies were elevated to species rank (Arntzen & Wallis 1994;Arntzen & García-París 1995).…”

“…The use of molecular techniques to assess the degree of genetic differentiation among subspecies of Tritrus cristatus -described by Kalezic et al (1990) on the basis of subtle differences in body sizeshowed a higher level of differentiation and all subspecies were elevated to species rank (Arntzen & Wallis 1994;Arntzen & García-París 1995). Quantitative morphological traits are usually polygenically inherited and show much plasticity in relation to environmental factors (Babik & Rafinski 2000).…”

Morphometric Relationships among the Clariid Fishes of the Lake Victoria Basin, Tanzania

“…Hence the need for an alternative identification scheme based on, for example, a combination of characters such as morphometric measurements and meristic counts. Such a technique was used by [5] on the moor frogs (Rana arvalis), [6] on the small barbs (Barbus humilis and B. trispilopleura) [7] and [8]. The aim of the present study was to utilize morphometric data to delineate the clariids species of Lake Victoria and assess the adequacy of this technique species.…”