Abstract
Age determination in amphibians is crucial to the investigation of life-history traits. In this context, we studied, for the first time, the life-history traits of Boana pulchella from a sample (63 adult males) of three populations (Las Acequias, Río Cuarto, Alejandro Roca) in central Argentina using the skeletochronological method. All adults of B. pulchella studied showed recognizable bone structures that allowed age determination. The average snout-vent length of sexually mature males was 43.39 mm. The maximum observed longevity was 5 years (5 Las Acequias, 4 Río Cuarto, 3 Alejandro Roca) and minimum age at sexual maturity was 2 years (same in the three populations), with mean of 2.96 years. Body size and age were positively correlated (except in Alejandro Roca populations). The growth patterns, estimated by the von Bertalanffy growth equation, do not show differences between populations, and the growth rate decrease after the attainment of sexual maturity. In conclusion, the determination of the individual age of the different populations of B. pulchella allowed us for the first time to establish the characteristics of the life history of the species, important for future comparisons whit others populations and future conservation biology studies.
Highlights
In the biological studies of amphibians, accurate age determination of individuals has been one of the most important subjects (Misawa & Matsui 1999), since the accurately assessed individual age permits estimate longevity, growth, age at sexual maturity and growth rate, very important in long-lived animals such as amphibians (Castellano et al 1999), fundamental information about the characteristics of the life story
Life-history traits are vitally important to individuals, and the variation in any one of these characteristics can have a significant effect on reproduction, overall fitness and survival of an individual (Stearns 1992, Chamberlain 2011)
Body size is easier to measure than the number of LAG, many studies assess whether body size is a good estimator of age (López et al 2017)
Summary
In the biological studies of amphibians, accurate age determination of individuals has been one of the most important subjects (Misawa & Matsui 1999), since the accurately assessed individual age permits estimate longevity, growth, age at sexual maturity and growth rate, very important in long-lived animals such as amphibians (Castellano et al 1999), fundamental information about the characteristics of the life story. To evaluate age of amphibian populations, skeletochronology is one of the most widely used techniques, and studies the presence of growth layers in the long bones by counting the lines of arrested growth (LAGs) (Sinsch 2015). Body size is easier to measure than the number of LAG, many studies assess whether body size is a good estimator of age (López et al 2017).
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