台北:Zhong yang yan jiu yuan. Dong wu yan jiu suo, BioMed Central
Abstract:
Sauter's frog, Rana sauteri Boulenger, 1909 in the west-central part of the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan at elevations of 300 to 2360 m showed obvious elevational clines in reproductive and life cycle traits. With an increase in elevation, the breeding season and the periods of calling, aggregation, and egg deposition of mature frogs shifted from fall and winter (Oct. to Dec.) to spring (May), while the breeding period decreased but the larval period increased. Also, adult females at high elevations were larger and produced smaller clutch sizes but larger eggs and tadpoles. The temperature experiment showed that low temperatures in winter at high elevations and high temperatures in summer at low elevations are the primary environmental factors that define the breeding success of the species. Rana sauteri has experienced long-term selection by environmental factors (e.g., temperature), resulting in populations at high elevations breeding in spring and populations at low elevations breeding in fall and winter to ensure that their tadpoles can grow and complete metamorphosis.
