Phenotypic structure of Pelophylax esculentus complex population in urbanized landscapes in the South Central Russian Upland
Background. Morphological features are one of the most important markers for bioindication. Among them, the polymorphism of phenotypic traits occupies a special place. In tailless amphibians, dorsal colouration variability is widespread: the presence or absence of a light dorsomedial stripe or da...
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| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN RU |
| Publicado: |
Penza State University Publishing House
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/2f00d863ac254ed58439ada6b2d770ff |
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| Sumario: | Background. Morphological features are one of the most important markers for
bioindication. Among them, the polymorphism of phenotypic traits occupies a special
place. In tailless amphibians, dorsal colouration variability is widespread: the presence or
absence of a light dorsomedial stripe or dark spots. The phenotypic composition is known
to change in the impacted areas. The purpose of the study was to analyze the phenotypic
structure of Pelophylax esculentus complex populations in the urbanized landscapes in the
South Central Russian Upland. This study is a part of the comprehensive analysis of the
population structure of green frogs in the South Central Russian Upland. Materials and
methods. A total of 748 individuals were sampled from 35 localities in the South Central
Russian Upland. Collection points differed in the degree of anthropogenic pressure. Dorsal
coloration variations were analyzed according to the generally accepted grading. Analysis
of phenotypes diversity was performed according to the indicators proposed by L.A. Zhivotovsky.
Results. Four main phenotypes “Maculata” (M), “Striata” (S), “Punctata” (P),
“Burnsi” (B), and their combinations SM, SP and SMP were registered in the study area.
The highest phenotypic diversity was observed in natural or sparsely disturbed biotopes
“Sazon” (6.815 ± 0.251), “Aidar” (6.527 ± 0.306), “Goluboi Dunai” (6.43 ± 0.418), while
under anthropogenic pressure an increase in the proportion of rare phenotypes was observed.
The principal component analysis has demonstrated the phenotypic similarity of
most of the populations. At the same time, unique groups were found in both impact and
natural habitats, which may indicate an effective compensatory response of the green frog
populations in the study area to anthropogenic pressures. Conclusions. The results obtained
confirm the data of the previous studies on the phenotypic polymorphism of green frogs,
according to which the phenotypic diversity declines and the proportion of rare phenotypes
increases under conditions of anthropogenic pressure. In addition, in a number of populations,
both in urbanized and relatively clean biotopes, unique combinations of phenotypic
frequencies are observed, indicating active adaptation of green frogs to changing environmental
conditions. |
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