Environmental effectors of breeding calls and spermatogenesis in the male spring peeper, Hyla crucifer, in Guilford County, N. C.

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Gary S. Davis (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Herbert Hendrickson

Abstract: It is the purpose of this study to correlate environmental parameters with the breeding behavior and spermatogenic cycle of the male spring peeper, Hyla crucifer. The dates of calling male H. crucifer along with daily high temperature, low temperature, photoperiod, and rainfall were recorded in 1973-1975. A standardized discriminant function analysis indicated that photoperiod had the most significant effect upon the total number of days that H. crucifer called (N = 248), followed by high temperature, low temperature, and rainfall, respectively. A multiple regression analysis was used to correlate testicular data, climatological data, and the number of days per month frogs called. The above analysis included sample groups from the wild, an outdoor cage group, and an indoor cage group. Highly significant negative correlations were found between the mean monthly temperature and mean monthly photoperiod to the number of days per month frogs called. Highly significant negative correlations also existed between mean monthly temperature and mean monthly photoperiod to the mean number of spermatogonia. A highly significant positive correlation was found between the number of days per month frogs called and the mean number of sperm, and a high negative correlation between the mean number of sperm and mean monthly temperature. Gonadal cell counts from the three sample groups were compared by analysis of variance. This analysis and photographs indicated that the spermatogenic cycle of the indoor cage population (March-July) exhibited abnormal lags and accelerations.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1977
Subjects
Spring peeper $x Reproduction $x Climatic factors
Spring peeper $x Spermatozoa
Spring peeper $x Research $z North Carolina $z Guilford County

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