Autumn protogyny and spring protandry: Mechanisms and adaptive significance in a Japanese headwater frog, Rana sakuraii.

ABSTRACT: In temperate-zone vertebrates, almost all studies on protandry and protogyny are based on spring breeding migrations or breeding sites and are discussed in terms of the advantages for pairing. However, both autumn migrations and wintering conditions are also important for studies on these behaviors because, in some vertebrates, pairings occur at wintering sites before the emergence at the main breeding sites. Nevertheless, the significance of both autumn migrations and wintering conditions for pairing is scarcely recognized or studied. This study is the first to report on the mechanism and adaptive significance of "autumn protogyny and spring protandry" in a temperate-zone amphibian species. I investigated the annual migrations of Rana sakuraii, a Japanese early spring breeding (ESB) frog

SUBMITTER: Miwa T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11970676 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature