Abstract
The relationship between population structure and amount of genetic variation within populations has been investigated in seven species of anurans from Southeast Asia. Two populations each of Bufo asper, B. parvus, B. melanostictus, Rana blythi, and R. erythraea and one population each of R. hosei and R. laticeps were studied; all except B. melanostictus and R. erythraea are forest species. Information on distributional characteristics such as general habitat, form of the adult range, the relationships of nonbreeding range to breeding site, the tendency to aggregate at the breeding site, and the size of the breeding aggregation was used to outline major aspects of the breeding structure of each species and predict relative amounts of genic variation. Genetic variation was estimated from measures of protein polymorphism as detected through gel electrophoresis. The assays used were liver EST, FUM, GDH, LAP, LDH, MDH, and total protein; muscle EST, GOT, MDH, and total protein; plasma EST and total protein. The pattern of variation of the populations of Bufo species agreed with predictions based on population structure, with B. asper the least polymorphic, B. melanostictus the most polymorphic, and B. parvus intermediate. Interspecific differences were not as great in Rana as in Bufo. Although R. erythraea was more variable than R. blythi in terms of mean number of morphs per zone (as predicted from distributional characteristics), R. blythi possessed polymorphism at more zones. R. hosei was the most polymorphic Rana studied, but distributional data are insufficient to explain why this was the case.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alcala, A. C. (1955). Observations on the life history and ecology of Rana erythraea Schlegel, on Negros Island, Philippines. Silliman J. 2175.
Boulenger, G. A. (1912). Reptilia and Batrachia ... in a Vertebrate Fauna of the Malaya Peninsula, Taylor & Francis, London.
Church, G. (1960). Annual and lunar periodicity in the sexual cycle of the Javanese toad, Bufo melanostictus Schneider. Zoologica (Sci. Cont. N. Y. Zool. Soc. Pt. 4) 44181.
Dessauer, H. C. (1966). Multiple localizations of specific proteins on starch gel electropherograms. Rutgers Univ. Serol. Mus. Bull. 361.
Dessauer, H. C., and Nevo E. (1969). Geographic variation of blood and liver proteins in cricket frogs. Biochem. Genet. 3171.
Gillespie, J. H., and Kojima, K. (1968). The degree of polymorphisms in enzymes involved in energy production compared to that in nonspecific enzymes in two Drosophila ananassae populations. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 61582.
Hubby, J. L., and Lewontin, R. C. (1966). A molecular approach to the study of genic heterozygosity in natural populations. I. The number of alleles at different loci in Drosophila pseudoobscura. Genetics 54577.
Hubby, J. L., and Throckmorton, L. H. (1965). Protein differences in Drosophila. II. Comparative species genetics and evolutionary problems. Genetics 52203.
Hunter, R. L., and Strachan, D. S. (1961). Esterases of mouse blood. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 94(1243861.
Inger, R. F. (1966). The systematics and zoogeography of the Amphibia of Borneo. Fieldiana Zool. 521.
Inger, R. F. (1969). Organization of communities of frogs along small rain forest streams in Sarawak. J. Anim. Ecol. 38123.
Inger, R. F., and Greenberg, B. (1963). The annual reproductive pattern of the frog Rana erythraea in Sarawak. Physiol. Zool. 36(121.
Johnson, W. E., and Selanders, R. K. (1971). Protein variation and systematics in kangaroo rats (genus Dipodomys). Syst. Zool. 20377.
Kimura, M., and Crow, J. F. (1964). The number of alleles that can be maintained in a finite population. Genetics 49725.
Koehn, R., and Mitton, J. (1972). Population genetics of marine pelecypods. I. Ecological heterogeneity and evolutionary strategy at an enzyme locus. Am. Naturalist 106(94747.
Lakovaara, S., Saura, A., and Falk, C. T. (1972). Genetic distance and evolutionary relationships in the Drosophila obscura group. Evolution 26(2177.
Lewontin, R. C., and Hubby, J. L. (1966) A molecular approach to the study of genic heterozygosity in natural populations. II. Amount of variation and degree of heterozygosity in natural populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Genetics 54595.
Menhinick, E. F. (1964). A comparison of some species diversity indices applied to samples of field insects. Ecology 45(4859.
Nair, P. S., Brncic, D., and Kojima, K. (1971). II. Isozyme variations and evolutionary relationships in the mesophragmatica species group of Drosophila. Stud. Genet. (Univ. Texas Publ.) 6(710317.
Petras, M. L. (1963). Genetic control of a serum esterase component in Mus musculus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 50112.
Petras, M. L. (1967). Studies of natural populations of Mus. I. Biochemical polymorphisms and their bearing on breeding structure. Evolution 21259.
Prakash, S., Lewontin, R. C., and Hubby, J. L. (1969). A molecular approach to the study of genic heterozygosity in natural populations. IV. Patterns of genic variation in central, marginal and isolated populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Genetics 61(4841.
Ruddle, F. H. (1966). Kidney esterases of the mouse (Mus musculus): Electrophoretic analysis of inbred lines C57B/6J, RF/J and SJL/J. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 14(125.
Selander, R. K., and Yang, S. Y. (1969). Protein polymorphism and genic heterozygosity in a wild population of the house mouse (Mus musculus). Genetics 63653.
Selander, R. K., Yang, S. Y., Lewontin, R. C., and Johnson, W. E. (1970). Genetic variation in the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), a phylogenetic “relic.”. Evolution 24(2402.
Shaw, C. R., and Koen, A. L. (1968). Starch gel zone electrophoresis of enzymes. In Smith, I. (ed.), Chromatographic and Electrophoretic Techniques, Vol. II, Interscience, New York.
Shaw, C. R., and Prasad, R. (1970). Starch gel electrophoresis of enzymes—A compilation of recipes. Biochem. Genet. 4297.
Siegel, S. (1956). Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Smith, M. A. (1917). A list of the batrachians at present known to inhabitat Siam. J. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam 2226.
Wright, S. (1951). The genetical structure of populations. Ann. Eugen. 15323.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (GB 7845X).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Inger, R.F., Voris, H.K. & Voris, H.H. Genetic variation and population ecology of some southeast asian frogs of the genera Bufo and Rana . Biochem Genet 12, 121–145 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00487821
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00487821