L. Forró - É. Murai szerk.: Miscellanea Zoologica Hungarica 6. 1991 (Budapest, 1991)

Gubányi, A.; Pekli, J.: Contribution to the knowledge of green frog populations (Rana esculenta complex, Anura, Amphibia) of the Kis-Balaton Landscape Protection Area, Hungary

this reason morphological ratios are generally used for distinguishing (GÜNTHER 1973,1975, BERGER 1971, HOTZ & UZZEL 1982, BORKIN 1979). Current morphological examinations, biochemical and karyological experiments (GUBÁNYI 1988,1990, LÓ Wer ai 1989; MÉSZÁROS & BARTOS 1978) cannot present satisfactory data about Hungarian green frog populations. The scope of this study was to investigate the LDH isozyme patterns and the morphological characteristics of green frogs in the Kis-Balaton Landscape Protection Area during the years 1989-1990. MATERIAL AND METHODS Water frogs from three sampling sites of the Kis-Balaton Landscape Protection Area were used for this study: 1. Vörs, frogs were collected in an alder forest (Cariceto elongatae Alnetum) situated in a depression; 2. Catch brain of the KisBalaton Reservoir, few km from Zalavár; 3. Diás island, frogs were captured nearby the experimental station, which had already been investigated in 1987 (GUBÁNYI 1988, LOW et al. 1989), only in 1990. Ten morphometric characters were included into the analyses: body length (LC), head width (LTC), internarial distance (SPI), nostril to anterior eyelid commisure (DNO), snout to nostril (DIN), intercanthal distance (SPCR), tibia (LT), femur (LF), first toe length (DP), inner metatarsal tubercle length (CIL). From these measurements 7 additional ratios were computed for morphological analyses (LC/LT, LC/LF, LC/CIL, LC/DP, LF/LT, LT/CIL, CIL/DP). Frogs were identified by means of electrophoretic phenotype of LDH-B isozymes. Blood sampling was done from the hindlimb of the frogs and were centrifuged (5 min, 4500 rpm) and stored at 25 °C until processing (GUBÁNYI et al 1991). Polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis was carried out after MAURER (1971) and gels were incubated in darkness at 38 °C in a mixture of 0.3 mg/ml NAD, 0.125 mg/ml NBT, 0.06 mg/ml PMSO and 2.5 mg/ml calcium-lactate in 0.05 M Tris-HCL buffer of pH 8.0. The significance of differences was evaluated by using the Mann-Whitney U-test (HOTZ & UZZEL 1982). RESULTS Considering electrophoretic phenotype referring to the B locus of lactatedehydrogenase, species distribution of the three sampling area showed marked differences (Fig. 1). Two alleles (Li, Lf) were observed in Rana lessonae, which occurred in heterozygous form, too (Table 1). The most balanced frequency of these two alleles was presented in individuals from the Diás island. At the same time in Rana esculenta specimens the slow migrating ridibunda allele (Rs) was more frequent than the fast migrating ridibunda allele (Rf). U/Rs heterozigotes dominated at all the three sampling sites and in Diás island this was the only pattern of Rs.