US EPA

7011416 

Journal Article 

BODY SIZE, AGE, MORPHOPHYSIOLOGICAL AND CYTOGENETIC CHARACTERISTICS IN POPULATIONS OF PELOPHYLAX RIDIBUNDUS (AMPHIBIA, RANIDAE) FROM POLLUTED THERMAL WATERS OF KAMCHATKA 

Romanova, EB; Ryabinina, ES; Lyapkov, SM; , 

2020 

1 

Zoologicheskii Zhurnal
ISSN: 0044-5134 

MAIK NAUKA-INTERPERIODICA PUBL 

MOSCOW 

99 

8 

924-937 

10.31857/S0044513420060136 

WOS:000579924300008 

Two populations of marsh frogs, Pelophylax ridibundus, were sampled in habitats with thermal waters in the southeastern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia: in a discharge canal of the thermal power plant of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski (TPP) and in waste thermal waters of the settlement of Paratunka (Paratunka). In TPP waters, the concentrations of iron (7 x) and manganese (1.2 x) were higher than in Paratunka waters, vs. the concentrations of cobalt, copper and nickel which were lower. The phenetic morphs "striata" and "hemimaculata" prevailed in the Paratunka population, while the maculated ("maculata"), white-throated ("albicollis") and white-bellied ("albiventris") frogs dominated the TPP ones. The average values of age, body length and body weight, as well as the postmetamorphic growth rate for both sexes were higher in TPP compared to the Paratunka population. As the relative testes mass was also significantly higher in the TPP population, this could be considered as a response to pollutants. The prevalence of erythrocytes with attached micronuclei in the blood of frogs from the study Kamchatka populations was revealed for the first time. This indicates chromosomal abnormalities induced by water mutagens. Sexual differences in the proportions of erythrocytes with micronuclei which were found in the Paratunka population suggest higher mutation frequencies in the erythrocytes of males than in females. The higher proportion of micronuclei detected in the erythrocytes of older frogs seems to have been accounted for by a cumulative effect of water xenobiotics. The morphophysiological indices (relative masses) of organs substantially contributed to the common variance of the study characters set. In the Paratunka population, the cytogenetic disorders in somatic cells revealed by micronuclei tests significantly contributed to sexual differences. 

marsh frog; Pelophylax ridibundus; phenes; age distribution; postmetamorphic growth; morphophysiological and cytohematological characteristics; micronuclei