First detection probability, comparative analysis of ecological disparities and population dynamics of the Iranian long-legged wood frog in the Hyrcanian forests

Abstract

The Hyrcanian forests have a diverse fauna and flora with many endemic species of plants and animals. The Iranian long-legged wood frog, Rana pseudodalmatina, is one of the endemic species in this forest. The phylogenetic and morphologic analysis indicates the existence of the western and the eastern clades in R. pseudodalmatina. Differences in the life history of the same species can attributed to different habitat quality or climate. The probability of encountering an Iranian long-legged wood frog, R. pseudodalmatina in the western half of the Hyrcanian forests of the southern shores of the Caspian Sea is much higher than in the forests of the eastern sea. This increase in the detection probability can be attributed to higher precipitation levels in the West of the Hyrcanian forests compared to the East. I observed that the Eastern populations tend to have larger sizes. In addition, the individuals of the western branch have a lower mean age (5.29 ± 0.74 years) than the eastern ones (8.36 ± 0.08 years). According to our results, females were larger (54.64 ± 0.53 mm) and older (7.68 ± 0.24 years) than males (48.13 ± 0.39 mm; 5.89 ± 0.39 years) in both eastern and western clades. So, the difference has been attributed to the variation in precipitation between the East and West of the sea, leading to different environmental conditions for R. pseudodalmatina. Hence, any conservation planning to protect this native species of the Hyrcanian forests must consider inter and intra-population differences in the East and West of the Hyrcanian forests.