Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Body Size, Age, Phenetic, Morphophysiological, and Cytogenetic Characteristics of Pelophylax ridibundus (Amphibia, Ranidae) Populations Inhabiting Polluted Thermal Reservoirs of Kamchatka

  • Published:
Biology Bulletin Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Samples of marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus) were collected from two thermal reservoirs in the southeastern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula: (1) from a discharge channel of Thermal Power Plant no. 2, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (hereinafter TPP); and (2) from thermal waste waters of the Township of Paratunka (hereinafter Paratunka). The concentrations of iron and manganese in the TPP waters are higher than in Paratunka by 7 and 1.2 times, respectively; while the concentrations of cobalt, copper, and nickel in the TPP waters are lower in comparison with Paratunka. The striata and hemimaculata phenetic morphs predominate in the Paratunka population; while maculated (maculata), white-throated (albicollis), and white-bellied (albiventris) individuals predominate in the TPP population. Both males and females in the TPP population feature higher average age, body length, body weight, and postmetamorphic growth rate values in comparison with the Paratunka population. Males in the TPP population feature a significantly higher relative testes mass, which can be a compensatory reaction to the complex of pollutants. For the first time, the predominance of erythrocytes with attached micronuclei was identified in marsh frog populations of Kamchatka, which indicates chromosomal aberrations induced by mutagens present in the aquatic environment. Sexual differences in the proportion of erythrocytes with attached micronuclei have been identified in frogs of the Paratunka population, which indicates a higher mutation frequency in erythrocytes of males in comparison with females. The proportion of micronuclei increases in erythrocytes of older individuals; apparently, this is due to the cumulative effect of xenobiotics present in the aquatic environment. The morphophysiological indices (i.e., relative masses) of organs make the highest relative contribution to the total variance of the set of characteristics studied in marsh frogs belonging to two different populations; while cytogenetic disordersin somatic cells identified by the micronucleus test make the greatest difference in sexual differences (Paratunka population only).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Berger, L. and Smielowski, J., Inheritance of vertebral stripe in Rana ridibunda Pall. (Amphibia, Ranidae), Amphibia-Reptilia, 1982, vol. 3, nos. 2/3, pp. 145–151.

  2. Borkin, L.Ya. and Tikhenko, N.D., Some aspects of morphological variability, color polymorphism, growth, population structure and daily activity of Rana lessonae on the northern border of the range, in Ekologiya i sistematika amfibii i reptilii (Ecology and Taxonomy of Amphibians and Reptiles), Anan’eva, N.B. and Borkin, L.Ya., Eds., Tr. Zool. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Leningrad, 1979, vol. 89, pp. 18–54.

  3. Eichenlaub-Ritter, U., Baart, E., Yin, H., and Betzendahl, I., Mechanisms of spontaneous and chemically-induced aneuploidy in mammalian oogenesis: basis of sex-specific differences in response to aneugens and the r-r necessity for further tests, Mutat. Res., 1996, vol. 372, no. 2, pp. 279–294.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Faizulin, A.I. and Kuzovenko, A.E., The use of amphibians in monitoring the state of the environment in the Samara oblast: phenetic structure of populations, Izv. Samar. Nauchn. Tsentra Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2012, vol. 1 (3), no. 1, pp. 829–833.

  5. Faizulin, A.I., Chikhlyaev, N.V., and Kuzovenko, A.E., Amfibii Samarskoi oblasti (Amphibians of the Samara Oblast), Tolyatti: OOO Kassandra, 2013.

  6. Fominykh, A.S. and Lyapkov, S.M., Formation of new features of the life cycle of the marsh frog (Rana ridibunda) in the conditions of a heated reservoir, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 2011, vol. 72, no. 6, pp. 403–421.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Glantz, S., Mediko-biologicheskaya statistika (Biomedical statistics), Moscow: Praktika, 1999.

  8. Hayashi, M.L., MacGregor, J.T., Gatehouse, D.G., and Adler, I.D., In vivo rodent erythrocyte micronucleus assay, Environ. Mol. Mutagenesis, 2000, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 234–252.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ishchenko, V.G., Dinamicheskii polimorfizm burykh lyagushek fauny SSSR (Dynamic Polymorphism of Brown Frogs of the Fauna of the USSR), Moscow: Nauka, 1978.

  10. Ivanter, E.V., Ivanter, T.V., and Tumanov, I.L., Adaptivnye osobennosti melkikh mlekopitayushchikh (Adaptive Characteristics of Small Mammals), Leningrad: Nauka, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Karmazin, A.P. and Peskova, T.Yu., Using the hematological parameters of the marsh frog Rana ridibunda (Pallas, 1771) to determine the zone of toxic action of oil, Sovr. Gerpetol., 2010, vol. 10, nos. 1/2, pp. 3–7.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Klevezal, G.S. and Smirina, E.M., Recording structures of terrestrial vertebrates. Brief history and current state of research, Zool. Zh., 2016, vol. 95, no. 8, pp. 872–896.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kovaleva, O.A., Cytogenetic aberrations in somatic cells, Tsitol. Genet., 2008, no. 1, pp. 58–72.

  14. Lada, G.A., Tailless amphibians (Anura) of the Russian Plain: variability, speciation, habitats, conservation problems, Doctoral (Biol.) Dissertation, Kazan, 2012.

  15. Lyapkov, S.M., Marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) in thermal water bodies of Kamchatka, Zool. Zh., 2014, vol. 93, no. 12, pp. 1427–1432.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Lyapkov, S.M., Places of records and the state of populations of marsh frogs in Kamchatka, Vestn. Tambov. Univ., Ser.: Estestv. Tekhn. Nauki, 2016, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 1821–1824.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Lyapkov, S.M., Marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) in Kamchatka: peculiarities of habitats, size and age composition of populations, in “Sokhranenie bioraznoobraziya Kamchatki i prilegayushchikh morei”. Tezisy XVII mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii (“Conservation of Biodiversity of Kamchatka and Adjacent Seas,” XVII International Scientific Conference, Abstracts of Papers), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii, 2016a, pp. 94–98.

  18. Lyapkov, S.M., Ermakov, O.V., and Titov, S.V., Distribution and origin of two forms of the marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus complex (Anura, Ranidae) in Kamchatka according to the analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, Zool. Zh., 2017, vol. 96, no. 11, pp. 1384–1391.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Marunouchi, J., Kusano, T., and Ueda, H., Validity of back-calculation methods of body size from phalangeal bones: an assessment using data for Rana japonica, Curr. Herpetol., 2000, vol. 19, pp. 81–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Men’shikov, V.V., Delektorskaya, L.N., and Zolotnitskaya, R.P., Laboratornye metody issledovaniya v klinike (Laboratory Methods of Research in Clinical Practice), Moscow: Meditsina, 1987.

  21. Migliore, L., Barale, R., and Belluomini, D., Cytogenetic damage induced in human lymphocytes by adriamycin and vincristine: a comparison between micronucleus and chromosomal aberration assays, Toxicol. In Vitro, 1987, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 247–254.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Peskova, T.Yu., Red-bellied toad (Bombina bombina L.) as a test object for bioindication of pesticide pollution of water bodies in the western Ciscaucasia, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Krasnodar, 1995.

  23. Peskova, T.Yu., Adaptive variability of amphibians in anthropogenically polluted environment, Extended Abstract of Doctoral (Biol.) Dissertation, Tolyatti, 2004.

  24. Rebrova, O.Yu., Statisticheskii analiz meditsinskikh dannykh (Statistical Analysis of Medical Data), Moscow: MediaSfera, 2006.

  25. Romanova, E.B. and Ryabinina, E.S., Cytogenetic approach to primary assessment of habitat quality, Opera Med. Physiol., 2018, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 19–22.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Romanova, E.B., Shapovalova, K.V., and Ryabinina, E.S., Leukocyte composition of blood and micronuclei in erythrocytes of amphibians in contaminated water bodies of the Nizhny Novgorod oblast, Printsipy Ekol., 2018, no. 2, pp. 125–139.

  27. Romanova, E.B., Shapovalova, K.V., Ryabinina, E.S., and Gelashvili, D.B., Leukocyte indices and micronuclei in erythrocytes as population markers of the immune status of Pelophylax ridibundus, Pallas 1771 (Amphibia: Ranidae) inhabiting various biotopes, Povolzh. Ekol. Zh., 2018a, no. 1, pp. 60–75.

  28. Ryabchikova, T.N., Drobot, G.P., Svinin, A.O., Vedernikov, A.A., and Sidushkina, M.N., Evaluation of the cytogenetic homeostasis of the lake frog from the water bodies of the Privolzhskaya Lesostep’ Nature Reserve using the micronucleus test, in Biosistemy: organizatsiya, povedenie, upravlenie: Tezisy dokladov 72-i Vserossiiskoi s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem shkoly-konferentsii molodykh uchenykh (N. Novgorod, 23–26 aprelya 2019 g.) (Biosystems: Organization, Behavior, and Management: 72nd All-Russia School-Conference of Young Scientists, Nizhny Novgorod, April 23–26, 2019, Abstracts of Papers), Nizhny Novgorod: Univ. im. N.I. Lobachevskogo, 2019, p. 194.

  29. Shchupak, E.L. and Ishchenko, V.G., On the genetics of color polymorphism in the common frog (Rana arvalis Nilss.). I. Light dorso-medial stripe, in Gerpetologicheskie issledovaniya v Sibiri i na Dal’nem Vostoke (Herpetological Research in Siberia and the Far East), Borkin L.Ya., Ed., Leningrad: Zool. Inst. Acad. Nauk USSR, 1981, pp. 128–132.

  30. Shlyakhtin, G.V., Phenetic analysis of the back coloration of the marsh frog, in Fenetika populyatsii (Fenetics of Populations), Moscow: Nauka, 1985, p. 173.

  31. Shvarts, S.S., Influence of trace elements on animals in natural conditions of an ore field, Tr. Biogeokhim. Lab. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1954, vol. 10, pp. 76–81.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Smirina, E.M., Lifetime determination of age and retrospective assessment of the body size of the common toad (Bufo bufo), Zool. Zh., 1983, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 437–444.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Smirina, E.M., Age determination and longevity in amphibians, Gerontology, 1994, vol. 40, pp. 133–146.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Spirina, E.V., Romanova, E.M., and Spirina, T.M., Assessment of developmental stability and cytogenetic homeostasis in populations of Rana ridibunda Pall. of Ulyanovsk oblast, Izv. Samar. Nauchn. Tsentra Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2011, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 123–128.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Terent’ev, P.V., The nature of the geographical variability of green frogs, Tr. Petergof. Biol. Inst. Leningr. Univ., 1962, no. 19, pp. 98–121.

  36. Vershinin, V.L., Distribution and species composition of amphibians in the urban area of Sverdlovsk, in Informatsionnye materialy Instituta ekologii rastenii i zhivotnykh (Information Materials of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology), Sverdlovsk, 1980, pp. 5–6.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Vershinin, V.L., Urban groups of amphibians as a criterion for assessing the state of small water bodies, in Problemy ekologii Pribaikal’ya (Problems of Ecology of Cisbaikalia), Irkutsk, 1982, part 1, pp. 19–22.

  38. Vershinin, V.L., Species composition and biological characteristics of amphibians in a number of industrial cities of the Urals, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Sverdlovsk, 1983.

  39. Vershinin, V.L., Hematopoiesis of tailless amphibians: specificity of adaptation genesis of species in modern ecosystems, Zool. Zh., 2004, vol. 83, no. 11, pp. 1367–1374.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Vershinin, V.L., Morph striata in representatives of the genus Rana (Amphibia, Anura), the causes for adaptability to environmental changes, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 2008, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 65–71.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Water Quality Standards for Water Bodies of Fishery Significance, Including the Standards for Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Harmful Substances in the Waters of Water Bodies of Fishery Significance (Approved by Order of the Federal Agency for Fisheries Dated January 18, 2010, No. 20). http://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/2070984/#ixzz4mY1P6WRm. Accessed July 7, 2019.

  42. Zhukova, T.I., Kubantsev, B.S., and Burlachenko, T.L., Some responses of marsh frog populations to pesticide pollution of water bodies, in Antropogennoe vozdeistvie na populyatsii zhivotnykh (Anthropogenic Impact on Animal Populations), Volgograd, 1986, pp. 61–81.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Zhuleva, L.Yu., Dubinin, N.P., Using the micronucleus test to assess the ecological situation in the districts of the Astrakhan oblast, Genetika, 1994, vol. 30, no. 7, pp. 999–1004.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was supported by the Scientific Project of the State Order of the Government of Russian Federation to Lomonosov Moscow State University 04-1-21 no. 121031600198-2.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lobachevskii State University of Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

    E. B. Romanova & E. S. Ryabinina

  2. Department of Biology, Moscow State University, 119234, Moscow, Russia

    S. M. Lyapkov

Authors
  1. E. B. Romanova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. E. S. Ryabinina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. M. Lyapkov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to E. B. Romanova, E. S. Ryabinina or S. M. Lyapkov.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Additional information

Translated by L. Emeliyanov

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Romanova, E.B., Ryabinina, E.S. & Lyapkov, S.M. Body Size, Age, Phenetic, Morphophysiological, and Cytogenetic Characteristics of Pelophylax ridibundus (Amphibia, Ranidae) Populations Inhabiting Polluted Thermal Reservoirs of Kamchatka. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 48, 1004–1016 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359021070256

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359021070256

Keywords:

Search

Navigation