Demographic and Reproductive Characteristics of a Southern Illinois Population of the Crayfish Frog, Rana areolata

Authors

Michael Redmer, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Document Type

Research

Keywords

age; demography; population biology; fecundity; ovum size; Riina areolata, skeletochronology, Southern Illinois

Abstract

Demographic (snout-vent length, skeletochronologically estimated age) and reproductive (fecundity, ova size) characteristics were examined in Riina areolata from Williamson County, Illinois. Fifty-nine frogs (36 males, 23 females) were sampled from breeding choruses in March 1996. Hematoxylinophilic annular lines of arrested growth (LAG) were detected in the diaphyses of cross-sectioned phalanges of all sampled frogs. t-tests revealed that male age (mean = 3.53 yr) and female age (mean = 3.83 yr) were not significantly different, but male SVL (mean = 82.78 mm) was significantly smaller than that of females (mean = 89.61 mm). There were positive correlations between SVL and age for both males (r² = 0.66) and females (r² = 0.58), with males maturing earlier than females. Eggs from 15 clutches (12 ovarian ova complements from dissected females; three clutches oviposited in the lab) were counted, and mean clutch size was 4868 ova. There were positive correlations between female SVL and clutch size (r² = 0.76) and between female age and clutch size (r² = 0.41). Mean ovum/embryo diameter for all yolked ovarian complements, and two oviposited clutches (preserved at the blastula stage or earlier), was 2.05 mm. Clutch size was inversely correlated (r² = -0.46) with mean ovum size.

Publication Date

September-December 2000

Journal Title

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

107

Issue

3-4

First Page

128

Last Page

133

Copyright

© Copyright 2000 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Redmer, Michael (2000) "Demographic and Reproductive Characteristics of a Southern Illinois Population of the Crayfish Frog, Rana areolata," Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS, 107(3-4), 128-133.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jias/vol107/iss3/15