Sexual differences in color and color change in wood frogs

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1963-1968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. King ◽  
Bethia King

An observer-free method of color classification was used to determine whether wood frogs, Rana sylvatica, exhibit sexual differences in color and color change. Males and females captured from breeding aggregations differed significantly in color: females reflected a greater amount of long-wavelength (yellow–red) light and less short-wavelength (blue–green) light than males. The color difference was not just a result of differences in the state of physiological color change at the time of capture but persisted for a month after capture. Males and females also differed in their color-change responses to black and white backgrounds: both sexes changed in brightness, but only males changed in the relative amount of light reflected at different wavelengths. Wood frog color may function in predator avoidance through crypsis. There was a good match between frogs and some of the leaves from the leaf litter surrounding the breeding ponds. Hypotheses for the development of sexual differences in wood frog color include sexual differences in availability of pigment and pigment precursors, morphological color change, and evolutionary response to different selection pressures.

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1647-1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Pierce ◽  
Nalin Sikand

Acid tolerance in wood frog (Rana sylvatica) embryos and larvae was examined in full- and half-sib families. Among the embryos, no significant difference in acid tolerance at pH 3.75 was observed among the progeny of males. At pH 4 only slight differences in embryo acid tolerance existed among the progeny of males mated to the same female. Thus, there is relatively little direct genetic variation in embryo acid tolerance. However, progeny from different females differed significantly in their acid tolerance at both pH 4 and pH 3.75, indicating that maternal factors are important in embryo acid tolerance. Whether these maternal factors are genetic is not known. Among larvae, maternal factors did not appear to influence acid tolerance, but significant genetic variation was present. Larval survival in an acidic solution was not correlated with embryo acid tolerance.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 1733-1735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don C. Forester ◽  
David V. Lykens

In Maryland, the wood frog, Rana sylvatica, oviposits in ephemeral ponds and pools during early spring. Seasonal precipitation is often unpredictable and egg masses may become exposed as ponds recede. The ability of wood frog eggs to withstand prolonged terrestrial exposure was tested in the laboratory. Egg mortality rate was exponential. Compared with a submerged control, 49% of the eggs died within 2 days, but 11% of the eggs were alive after 10 days and a few survived as long as 14 days. Wood frogs are thought to have evolved communal egg laying as a mechanism to minimize thermal stress during development. We suggest that this behavior also enabled egg masses to withstand terrestrial stranding. Today, advantages accrued through reduced thermal exposure and resistance to desiccation likely act in concert to stabilize communal egg-laying behavior.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Shepack ◽  
Kealoha Freidenburg ◽  
David Skelly

Conversion of landscapes for human uses is widely associated with loss of biodiversity. Here we focus on limits to distribution defined by intensity of landscape development. Using a translocation experiment, we ask does degradation of wetland habitat contribute to species loss? Wood frog larvae (Rana sylvatica = Lithobates sylvaticus), were reared within enclosures in 7 ponds harboring populations of wood frogs and in 5 ponds where they are absent. Survival, growth rate, and development rate were equivalent between ‘present’ and ‘absent’ ponds. While it is clear that landscapes surrounding ‘absent’ ponds had been heavily influenced by human use, we find no evidence that such wetlands provide inferior habitat for wood frog recruitment. Their absence in human altered landscapes may stem from influences outside of pond basins. The results provide a caution to the typically unexamined presumption that relictual habitats in developed landscapes are degraded in their utility for wildlife.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Shepack ◽  
Kealoha Freidenburg ◽  
David Skelly

Conversion of landscapes for human uses is widely associated with loss of biodiversity. Here we focus on limits to distribution defined by intensity of landscape development. Using a translocation experiment, we ask does degradation of wetland habitat contribute to species loss? Wood frog larvae (Rana sylvatica = Lithobates sylvaticus), were reared within enclosures in 7 ponds harboring populations of wood frogs and in 5 ponds where they are absent. Survival, growth rate, and development rate were equivalent between ‘present’ and ‘absent’ ponds. While it is clear that landscapes surrounding ‘absent’ ponds had been heavily influenced by human use, we find no evidence that such wetlands provide inferior habitat for wood frog recruitment. Their absence in human altered landscapes may stem from influences outside of pond basins. The results provide a caution to the typically unexamined presumption that relictual habitats in developed landscapes are degraded in their utility for wildlife.


2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1085-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas C Woodhams ◽  
Jon P Costanzo ◽  
Jonathan D Kelty ◽  
Richard E Lee, Jr.

Wood frogs, Rana sylvatica, tolerate the freezing of their body tissues as an overwintering adaptation. Various parasites infect wood frogs of northern populations, but nothing is known about their strategies for surviving within a frozen host. We examined winter-conditioned wood frogs that were experimentally exposed to 0°C (nonfrozen) or –4°C (frozen) to determine whether endoparasites survive the freezing of their host. We found no differences in the prevalence or intensity of adult lungworms Rhabdias ranae (Nematoda) or of larvae of an unidentified species of digenetic trematode between these groups. Live individuals of both species were observed in hosts that recovered from experimental freezing at –4°C. Within the host, R. ranae also tolerated exposure to –5°C, a temperature near the lower limit of survival of the wood frog. Cryostage experiments showed that, like its host, R. ranae was highly susceptible to inoculative freezing and tolerant of the freezing of its tissues. Rhabdias ranae frozen in vitro in the presence or absence of 250 mM glucose, the cryoprotectant used by wood frogs, recovered from a 10-h exposure to –4°C. The mechanism of cold tolerance used by larval trematodes was not investigated; however, we hypothesize that freeze avoidance by supercooling may be important in this species. Freeze-tolerant anurans, such as the wood frog, are useful subjects in the study of coevolution of thermal tolerance in parasites and their host.


2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1032-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Pratt Frisbie ◽  
Jon P Costanzo ◽  
Richard E Lee, Jr.

Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) breed in late winter in temporary ponds, where eggs are deposited in communal surface rafts. Subsequently, developing embryos may face subzero temperatures. In the laboratory, individual embryos supercooled moderately (to –4.2°C for embryos in their jelly capsules; to –5.0°C for embryos removed from the jelly capsule) when chilled in the absence of external ice nuclei, but did not resist inoculative freezing when chilled in contact with external ice. They survived acute episodes (1–18 h) of supercooling to temperatures between ca. –0.5 and –2.0°C. Stage-12 embryos (six of six) survived freezing for 1 h at –2.0°C, but only one of six survived a 3.5-h freezing episode at the same temperature. Stage-13 and -14 embryos survived freezing episodes of 4.5 h at –1.0°C (six of six survived) and 18 h at –0.5°C (six of six survived), respectively. In the field, temperatures were monitored every 5 min for 21 d in embryo masses of wood frogs and Jefferson salamanders (Ambystoma jeffersonianum) at a breeding pond in central Kentucky. Wood frog embryos experienced higher daily maximum and lower daily minimum temperatures than salamander embryos, which were deeper in the water column. Wood frog embryos spent more time at risk of cryoinjury (i.e., at temperatures [Formula: see text]1°C), but the two species accumulated similar degree-days over the 21-d observation period. Their position in the water column may permit wood frogs to garner a developmental advantage in milder years, when daily minimum temperatures are similar between the two species. Wood frog embryos appear to offset some of the risks associated with this more exposed position by tolerating somatic freezing at high subzero temperatures.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon P. Costanzo ◽  
Richard E. Lee Jr.

Freezing survival of the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) is enhanced by the synthesis of the cryoprotectant glucose, via liver glycogenolysis. Because the quantity of glucose mobilized during freezing bears significantly on the limit of freeze tolerance, we investigated the relationship between the quantity of liver glycogen and the capacity for cryoprotectant synthesis. We successfully augmented natural levels of liver glycogen by injecting cold-conditioned wood frogs with glucose. Groups of 8 frogs having mean liver glycogen concentrations of 554 ± 57 (SE), 940 ± 57, and 1264 ± 66 μmol/g catabolized 98.7, 83.4, and 52.8%, respectively, of their glycogen reserves during 24 h of freezing to −2.5 °C. Glucose concentrations concomitantly increased, reaching 21 ± 3, 102 ± 23, and 119 ± 14 μmol/g, respectively, in the liver, and 15 ± 3, 42 ± 5, and 61 ± 5 μmol/mL, respectively, in the blood. Because the capacity for cryoprotectant synthesis depends on the amount of liver glycogen, the greatest risk of freezing injury likely occurs during spring, when glycogen reserves are minimal. Non-glucose osmolites were important in the wood frog's cryoprotectant system, especially in frogs having low glycogen levels. Presumably the natural variation in cryoprotectant synthesis capacity among individuals and populations of R. sylvatica chiefly reflects differences in glycogen reserves; however, environmental, physiological, and genetic factors likely are also involved.


Jurnal MIPA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Tjerie Pangemanan ◽  
Arnold Rondonuwu

Masalah lalu lintas  merupakan salah satu  masalah yang sangat sulit diatasi dengan hanya menggunakan system waktu (timer). Oleh sebab itu diperlukan suatu system pengaturan otomatis yang bersifat real-time sehingga waktu pengaturan lampu lalu lintas dapat disesuaikan dnegan keadaan di lapangan. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengembangkan suatu simulasi sistem yang mampu mengestimasi panjang antrian kendaraan menggunakan metoda pengolahan citra digital hanya dengan menggunakan satu kamera untuk dijadikan parameter masukan  dalam menghitung lama waktu nyala lampu merah dan lampu hijau. Oleh karena itu, sistem lalulintas sangatlah diperlukan, sebagai sarana dan prasarana untuk menjadikan lalulintas lancar, aman, bahkan sebagai media pembelajaran disiplin bagi masyarakat pengguna jalan raya. Penelitian ini penulis menggunakan sistem pengontrolan berbasis citra digital dimana camera sebagai sensor. Untuk aplikasi dari  semua metode dalam penelitian ini digunakan Microcontroller AurdinoTraffic problems is one of the problems that is very difficult to overcome by only using the system time (timer). Therefore we need an automatic real-time adjustment system so that the time settings for traffic lights can be adjusted according to the conditions on the ground. This study aims to develop a system simulation that is able to estimate the length of the vehicle queue using a digital image processing method using only one camera to be used as input parameters in calculating the length of time the red light and green light. Therefore, the traffic system is very necessary, as a means and infrastructure to make traffic smooth, safe, even as a medium for disciplined learning for road users. In this study the authors used a digital image-based control system where the camera as a sensor. For the application of all methods in this study, Aurdino Microcontroller is used


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2735
Author(s):  
Ernesto Olvera-Gonzalez ◽  
Martín Montes Rivera ◽  
Nivia Escalante-Garcia ◽  
Eduardo Flores-Gallegos

Artificial lighting is a key factor in Closed Production Plant Systems (CPPS). A significant light-emitting diode (LED) technology attribute is the emission of different wavelengths, called light recipes. Light recipes are typically configured in continuous mode, but can also be configured in pulsed mode to save energy. We propose two nonlinear models, i.e., genetic programing (GP) and feedforward artificial neural networks (FNNs) to predict energy consumption in CPPS. The generated models use the following input variables: intensity, red light component, blue light component, green light component, and white light component; and the following operation modes: continuous and pulsed light including pulsed frequency, and duty cycle as well energy consumption as output. A Spearman's correlation was applied to generate a model with only representative inputs. Two datasets were applied. The first (Test 1), with 5700 samples with similar input ranges, was used to train and evaluate, while the second (Test 2), included 160 total datapoints in different input ranges. The metrics that allowed a quantitative evaluation of the model's performance were MAPE, MSE, MAE, and SEE. Our implemented models achieved an accuracy of 96.1% for the GP model and 98.99% for the FNNs model. The models used in this proposal can be applied or programmed as part of the monitoring system for CPPS which prioritize energy efficiency. The nonlinear models provide a further analysis for energy savings due to the light recipe and operation light mode, i.e., pulsed and continuous on artificial LED lighting systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwi Ariyanti ◽  
Kazunori Ikebukuro ◽  
Koji Sode

Abstract Background The development of multiple gene expression systems, especially those based on the physical signals, such as multiple color light irradiations, is challenging. Complementary chromatic acclimation (CCA), a photoreversible process that facilitates the control of cellular expression using light of different wavelengths in cyanobacteria, is one example. In this study, an artificial CCA systems, inspired by type III CCA light-regulated gene expression, was designed by employing a single photosensor system, the CcaS/CcaR green light gene expression system derived from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, combined with G-box (the regulator recognized by activated CcaR), the cognate cpcG2 promoter, and the constitutively transcribed promoter, the PtrcΔLacO promoter. Results One G-box was inserted upstream of the cpcG2 promoter and a reporter gene, the rfp gene (green light-induced gene expression), and the other G-box was inserted between the PtrcΔLacO promoter and a reporter gene, the bfp gene (red light-induced gene expression). The Escherichia coli transformants with plasmid-encoded genes were evaluated at the transcriptional and translational levels under red or green light illumination. Under green light illumination, the transcription and translation of the rfp gene were observed, whereas the expression of the bfp gene was repressed. Under red light illumination, the transcription and translation of the bfp gene were observed, whereas the expression of the rfp gene was repressed. During the red and green light exposure cycles at every 6 h, BFP expression increased under red light exposure while RFP expression was repressed, and RFP expression increased under green light exposure while BFP expression was repressed. Conclusion An artificial CCA system was developed to realize a multiple gene expression system, which was regulated by two colors, red and green lights, using a single photosensor system, the CcaS/CcaR system derived from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, in E. coli. The artificial CCA system functioned repeatedly during red and green light exposure cycles. These results demonstrate the potential application of this CCA gene expression system for the production of multiple metabolites in a variety of microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria.


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