TY  - JOUR
A1  - Grözinger, Franziska
A1  - Thein, Jürgen
A1  - Feldhaar, Heike
A1  - Rödel, Mark-Oliver
T1  - Giants, Dwarfs and the Environment - Metamorphic Trait Plasticity in the Common Frog
JF  - PLOS ONE
N2  - In order to understand adaptation processes and population dynamics, it is central to know how environmental parameters influence performance of organisms within populations, including their phenotypes. The impact of single or few particular parameters in concert was often assessed in laboratory and mesocosm experiments. However, under natural conditions, with many biotic and abiotic factors potentially interacting, outcomes on phenotypic changes may be different. To study the potential environmental impact on realized phenotypic plasticity within a natural population, we assessed metamorphic traits (developmental time, size and body mass) in an amphibian species, the European common frog Rana temporaria, since a) larval amphibians are known to exhibit high levels of phenotypic plasticity of these traits in response to habitat parameters and, b) the traits' features may strongly influence individuals' future performance and fitness. In 2007 we studied these metamorphic traits in 18 ponds spread over an area of 28 km 2. A subset of six ponds was reinvestigated in 2009 and 2010. This study revealed locally high variances in metamorphic traits in this presumed generalist species. We detected profound differences between metamorphing froglets (up to factor ten); both between and within ponds, on a very small geographic scale. Parameters such as predation and competition as well as many other pond characteristics, generally expected to have high impact on development, could not be related to the trait differences. We observed high divergence of patterns of mass at metamorphosis between ponds, but no detectable pattern when metamorphic traits were compared between ponds and years. Our results indicate that environment alone, i.e. as experienced by tadpoles sharing the same breeding pond, can only partly explain the variability of metamorphic traits observed. This emphasizes the importance to assess variability of reaction norms on the individual level to explain within-population variability.
KW  - rana temporaria populations
KW  - prey growth rate
KW  - phenotypic plasticity
KW  - larval density
KW  - amphibian metamorphosis
KW  - ambystoma opacum
KW  - predation risk
KW  - life history
KW  - developmental plasticity
KW  - adaptive plasticity
Y1  - 2014
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-117203
SN  - 1932-6203
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Barej, Michael F.
A1  - Schmitz, Andreas
A1  - Penner, Johannes
A1  - Doumbia, Joseph
A1  - Sandberger-Loua, Laura
A1  - Hirschfeld, Mareike
A1  - Brede, Christian
A1  - Emmrich, Mike
A1  - Kouamé, N'Goran Germain
A1  - Hillers, Annika
A1  - Gonwouo, Nono L.
A1  - Nopper, Joachim
A1  - Adeba, Patrick Joël
A1  - Bangoura, Mohamed A.
A1  - Gage, Ceri
A1  - Anderson, Gail
A1  - Rödel, Mark-Oliver
T1  - Life in the spray zone - overlooked diversity in West African torrent-frogs (Anura, Odontobatrachidae, Odontobatrachus)
JF  - Zoosystematics and Evolution
N2  - West African torrent-frogs of the genus Odontobatrachus currently belong to a single species: Odontobatrachus natator (Boulenger, 1905). Recently, molecular results and biogeographic separation led to the recognition of five Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) thus identifying a species-complex. Based on these insights, morphological analyses on more than 150 adult specimens, covering the entire distribution of the family and all OTUs, were carried out. Despite strong morphological congruence, combinations of morphological characters made the differentiation of OTUs successful and allowed the recognition of five distinct species: Odontobatrachus natator, and four species new to science: Odontobatrachus arndti sp. n., O. fouta sp. n., O. smithi sp. n. and O. ziama sp. n. All species occur in parapatry: Odontobatrachus natator is known from western Guinea to eastern Liberia, O. ziama sp. n. from eastern Guinea, O. smithi sp. n. and O. fouta sp. n. from western Guinea, O. arndti sp. n. from the border triangle Guinea-Liberia-Cote d'Ivoire. In addition, for the first time the advertisement call of a West African torrent-frog (O. arndti sp. n.) is described.
KW  - Guinean rain forest
KW  - molecular data
KW  - conservation
KW  - Upper Guinea
KW  - new species
KW  - Phrynobatrachus amphibia
KW  - Arthroleptis amphibia
KW  - ivory coast
KW  - genus
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - Ranidae
KW  - Petropedetidae
KW  - biodiversity hotspot
KW  - rainforest
KW  - taxonomy
KW  - Amphibia
Y1  - 2015
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-144254
VL  - 91
IS  - 2
ER  -