An Investigation to Determine the Age Parameters of Marsh Frogs from Two Frog Farms

Abstract

Amphibians are not only an alternative source of vital protein for humans, but also one of the best bioindicators for ecological studies. In this study, we studied the age structure, body size, and mass of an amphibian species (Pelophylax ridibundus) by sampling from two different frog farms in Türkiye. The age ranged from 4 to 13 (mean: 7.1) years in the Adana site while the age varied from 1 to 12 (mean: 5.2) years in the İstanbul site. Body size ranged between 88.21 and 103.72 mm (mean: 94.99 ± 1.15 mm) in the Adana site and 45.96 and 103.25 mm (mean: 75.90 ± 3.01 mm) in the İstanbul site. The t-test confirmed that the average age, SVL, and weight of the Adana site were higher than those of İstanbul. Body size markedly increased with age and weight (SVL-age: r = 0.659, p < 0.01; SVL-weight: r = 0.877, p < 0.001) in the İstanbul site, while in the Adana site, body size correlated only with weight. In conclusion, our research uses skeletochronology to provide demographic characteristics of marsh frogs from two unexplored frog farms located in the west and south of Türkiye.