Researching Malformations in Frogs of the Pelophylax esculentus Complex (Amphibia: Anura) in the Natural Populations of the Trakhtemyriv Peninsula (Ukraine)

O D Nekrasova,V V Kuibida

doi:10.18502/kls.v4i3.2112

Abstract

Highlights

We sampled abnormal anurans belonging to Pelophylax esculentuscomplex from the Trakhtemyriv Peninsula (Cherkasy region) near the village of Buchak (49∘51′53′′N, 31∘26′21′′E)
As a result of the research, it was found that all members of the green frog Pelophylax esculentuscomplex can be found in the investigated territory – parents of the marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771); the pool frog Pelophylax lessonae (Camerano, 1882);and their hybrid Pelophylax kl. esculentus
A similar number of cases of polymelia were found in lake frogs (P. ridibundus) from the park “Kin-Grust” in Kyiv

Summary

Introduction

The decline in the population of amphibians and the appearance of a huge number of species with various abnormal features over the last two decades has aroused huge concern among scientists. The literature describes amphibian anomalies in Eastern Ukraine [2], Western Ukraine [1, 3, 10], Southern Ukraine [5], and in Ukraine generally [4]. In the middle Dnipro region, we previously registered malformations in limbs, heads (craniofacial), spines, skin, etc. Anomalies are rarer in natural populations than in populations in an anthropogenic environment (Vershinin, 1997; Nekrаsova, 2002; Borkin et al, 2012), and there is huge interest in the natural biotopes of the Trakhtemyriv Peninsula. The peninsula is situated in the middle of the Dnieper River and is surrounded on three sides by the waters of the Kaniv water storage plant. In the mid-1970s, the construction and opening of the water storage plant had a significant influence on the flora and fauna of this region. The regional landscape park “Trakhtemyriv” is located on the territory of the peninsula

Methods

Results

Conclusion