Anschrift
Museum für Naturkunde
Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung
an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Invalidenstraße 43
10115 Berlin
Deutschland

Telefon +49 (0)30 2093 9098
Fax +49 (0)30 2093 8565
E-Mail franziska.groezinger(at)mfn-berlin.de

Phenotypic plasticity of the common frog (Rana temporaria)

Larval development time and size at metamorphosis are two key life history parameters of many organisms with complex life-cycles since they are of crucial importance to an individual’s future performance and fitness. In amphibians size and weight at metamorphosis highly influence juvenile’s mobility, predation risk, and survival during hibernation, as well as age and size at maturity and thus fecundity. Hence larval development may not only affect individuals but also determine dynamics and survival of local amphibian populations. The influence of particular environmental parameters, such as predation, and intraspecific competition, but also waterlevel or pH, on development time and metamorphic weight are well studied under laboratory conditions. However, information about the impacts of these parameters on developmental traits in natural systems is still scarce. In my PhD project I am quantifying the realized phenotypic plasticity of metamorphic traits in a natural population of the common frog in southern Germany (Steigerwald, Bavaria). Furthermore, I investigate the impact of different environmental parameters and the genetic background on the development of these amphibians, asking: are the detected differences within this population plastic responses to environmental conditions or specializations on local scale?
This project is conducted in the framework of AG Rödel and funded with a scholarship of the Cusanuswerk (German grant for academic excellence)

Peer-reviewed

Grözinger F., A. Wertz, J.Thein, H. Feldhaar & M.-O. Rödel (2012): “Environmental factors fail to explain oviposition site use in the European common frog”- Journal of Zoology, DOI:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2012.00929.x

Rödel, M.-O., F. Grözinger, A. Pfahler, J. Thein, J. Glos.(2009): "Eine einfache Methode zur quantitativen Erfassung von Amphibienlarven und anderen aquatischen Organismen", Zeitschrift für Feldherpetologie Supplement 15, 243-256.

Benesic A, G. Schwerdt, R. Freudinger, S. Mildenberger, F. Grözinger, B. Wollny, A. Kirchhoff, M. Gekle (2006): "Chloroacetaldehyde as a Sulfhydryl Reagent: The Role of Critical Thiol Groups in Ifosfamide Nephropathy", Kidney Blood Press Res; 29: 280-293

Talks

Grözinger, F., M.-O. Rödel & H. Feldhaar (2010) “One pond fits all? Unexpected range of developmental plasticity in Rana temporaria tadpoles“ - Talk at the 103rd annual meeting of the Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft in Hamburg , Germany.

Grözinger, F. (2010): „Unerwartetes bei einem alten Bekannten: Untersuchungen zur Laichplatzwahl und Larvalentwicklung des Grasfrosches (Rana temporaria) in Nordbayern“ - Talk at the NABU Berlin e.V. in Berlin, Germany.

Grözinger, F. & M.-O. Rödel, (2008): „Phänotypische Plastizität einer Grasfroschpopulation (Rana temporaria)“, Talk at the DGHT (German Society for Herpetology and Herpetoculture)
Annual Convention in Potsdam, Germany.