Reproductive Mode of (Anura: Ranidae) Caught from Mae Sot, Thailand Based on Its Gonadosomatic Indices.
Mohd Sham Othman, Wichase Khonsue, Jirarach Kitana, Kumthorn Thirakhupt, Mark Gregory Robson, Noppadon Kitana
Author Information
Mohd Sham Othman: International Postgraduate Programs in Environmental Management, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand ; National Center of Excellence for Environmental and Hazardous Waste Management (NCE-EHWM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand ; Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand ; Environmental Health Program, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Wichase Khonsue: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Jirarach Kitana: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Kumthorn Thirakhupt: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Mark Gregory Robson: National Center of Excellence for Environmental and Hazardous Waste Management (NCE-EHWM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand ; School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Jersey 08901-8525, USA ; Thai Fogarty International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health Center NIH FIC 43TW007849, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Noppadon Kitana: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Amphibians show a variety of reproductive modes and strategies. The cyclicity and continuity of reproduction can often be predicted from the annual gonadosomatic index trends in a species specific manner. This research aims to document the female and male gonadosomatic index profiles and to ascertain the reproductive cyclicity or continuity of (Anura: Ranidae) caught in Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand. Frogs were collected monthly between November 2007 and October 2009 in rice fields and their surrounding areas in the study site. For each frog, total weight and ovarian/testicular weight were measured to obtain the female and male gonadosomatic index. The number of female individuals with mature eggs (postvitellogenic eggs) was also counted. The results showed that female frogs had two main surges of increased GSI in March and September of 2008. Alternatively, male frogs showed a more gradual increase and decrease in gonadosomatic index, thus the index remaining high throughout the year. This study concluded that while in this area is essentially a continuous breeder, it is more optimized for a cyclic reproduction mode with two breeding cycles during the rainy season.
