Seasonal Variations of Body Condition in the Asian Toad (<i>Bufo gargarizans gargarizans</i>)

Abstract

Body condition, a reliable indicator of energetic condition, has an important fitness consequence. We evaluated the seasonal variation of body condition in Asian toad ( Bufo gargarizans gargarizans ) from central China via the residual index (a general linear regression of log-transformed mass on log-transformed snout-vent length). We found that sex had no significant effect on body condition, and body condition is independent of SVL. We confirmed our hypothesis that season has a significant effect on body condition, individuals in winter have best body condition, and those in spring have poorest body condition. Our findings suggest that seasonal variation of body condition is related to the energy consume during winter and spring, and energy store during summer and autumn.