Variation in age, body size, and reproductive traits among urban and rural amphibian populations

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Document Details

Title

Variation in age, body size, and reproductive traits among urban and rural amphibian populations

Identifier

TF2010Jennette

Subjects

["Biology"]

Type

["Text"]

Genre

["Theses"]

Format

["pdf"]

Rights

This thesis or dissertation is restricted from access because there is no internet release form on file. If you are the author and you would like to submit an internet release form allowing us to publish your thesis or dissertation online, please contact spcoll@towson.edu. Copyright protected, all rights reserved.

General Notes

Thesis research directed by Environmental Science and Studies Program.

Extent

vii, 59 pages

Language

["English"]

Repository

["Towson University. Albert S. Cook Library. Special Collections and University Archives"]

Collection Name

["Towson University Graduate Theses and Dissertations"]

Author

Jennette, Matthew A.

Degree Date

2010

Department or Program

["Towson University. Environmental Science and Studies Program"]

Abstract

Habitat loss and degradation are significant threats to the persistence of amphibian populations, and urbanized areas represent some of the most impacted landscapes used by these organisms. I investigated how urbanization influences body size, age structure, and reproductive investment among adult populations of two anuran species, wood frogs (Lithobates [=Rana] sylvaticus) and American toads (Anaxyrus [=Bufo] americanus) in Baltimore County, Maryland. Although there was variation in age at maturity among populations, population age structure of breeding adults did not differ between urban and rural areas. Maternal body size strongly influenced reproductive investment in both species, but relationships did not vary between urban and rural populations. Wood frogs and American toads from urbanized landscapes were significantly smaller than conspecifics from rural landscapes. Smaller adult body size may be explained by a reduction in size at metamorphosis or juvenile growth rates resulting from greater environmental stress in urbanized landscapes.

Contents

Variations in life history traits of amphibians breeding in urbanized and rural landscapes

Thesis Committee Members

["Forester, Donald C.","Snodgrass, Joel W.","Seigel, Richard A."]

Date Published

01 March 2013

Author (Controlled)

["Jennette, Matthew A."]

Thesis Advisor

["Lev, Steven M."]

Degree Note

(M.S.) -- Towson University, 2010.

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