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Geographical Variation in Body Size and the Bergmann’s Rule in Andrew’s Toad (Bufo andrewsi)

Authors :
Ying Jiang
Li Zhao
Xiaofeng Luan
Wenbo Liao
Source :
Biology, Vol 11, Iss 12, p 1766 (2022)
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2022.

Abstract

Environmental variation likely modifies the life-history traits of vertebrates. As ectothermic vertebrates, it is possible that the body size of amphibians is impacted by environmental conditions. Here, we firstly quantified age and body size variation in the Andrew’s toad (Bufo andrewsi) across the Hengduan Mountains. Then, we examined the environmental correlates of this variation based on the literature and our unpublished data on the age and body size of the Andrew’s toad from 31 populations distributed in southwestern China. Although our analysis revealed significant variations in age and body size across B. andrewsi populations, neither latitude nor altitude correlated with this variability in age and body size. We found that age at sexual maturity, mean age, and longevity increased with decreasing annual mean temperature, whereas age at sexual maturity increased with decreasing temperature seasonality, implying that temperature was a crucial habitat characteristic that modulated age structure traits. Moreover, we revealed positive associations between age structure and UV-B seasonality, and negative relationships between both mean age and longevity and precipitation seasonality. We also found that body size increased with increasing precipitation in the driest month and UV-B seasonality. However, body size did not covary with temperature, signifying no support for Bergmann’s rule. These findings help us to understand amphibians’ abilities to adapt to environmental variation, which is particularly important in order to provide a theorical basis for their conservation.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20797737
Volume :
11
Issue :
12
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Biology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.920ad72f1ba241c6b945610fa8bb06c0
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11121766