Abstract
The spawning migration phenology of Pelobates fuscus was investigated on the basis of our field surveys of four floodplain lakes in the valley of the Medveditsa River (Saratov oblast) carried out in 2009–2013. The mean long-term dates on which the main phases of this phenomenon start (onset is April 7–13, culmination is April 17–20, and end is May 8–14), as well as the critical values of water temperature in the spawning waterbodies at the time of their onset (3.7–4.7, 5.2–8.6, and 14.3–16.9°C, respectively), were estimated. The species specificity of the temperature parameters at the onset of each phase of spawning migration was shown. The interpopulation differences were insignificant and were caused by local features of the spawning waterbody (its position in the valley, water supply mode, impact of floods, and weather conditions of a particular year) and the area around it (forestation level of the territory).
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Original Russian Text © M.V. Yermokhin, V.G. Tabachishin, G.A. Ivanov, 2014, published in Povolzhskii Ekologicheskii Zhurnal, 2014, No. 3, pp. 342–350.
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Yermokhin, M.V., Tabachishin, V.G. & Ivanov, G.A. Spawning migration phenology of the spadefoot toad Pelobates fuscus (Pelobatidae, Amphibia) in the valley of the Medveditsa River (Saratov oblast). Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 42, 931–936 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359015100040
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359015100040