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Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 54(2)

Effects of salinity on the survival, growth and development of tadpoles of the brown tree frog, Litoria ewingii

Kavitha Chinathamby A , Richard D. Reina A C , Paul C. E. Bailey A B and Belinda K. Lees A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.

B Australian Centre for Biodiversity: Analysis Policy Management, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: richard.reina@sci.monash.edu.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 54(2) 97-105 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO06006
Submitted: 12 January 2006  Accepted: 24 March 2006   Published: 11 May 2006

Abstract

We investigated the effects of 4% seawater (sw), 8% sw, 12% sw and 16% sw (1.4 g NaCl L–1, 2.8 g NaCl L–1, 4.2 g NaCl L–1 and 5.6 g NaCl L–1, respectively) on survival, mass and development of larvae of the brown tree frog, Litoria ewingii. Salinity of 16% sw significantly decreased survival of tadpoles such that 39% of tadpoles in 16% sw treatment survived to metamorphosis compared with 92% in the control group (freshwater). Growth (mass) of 16% sw tadpoles (0.048 g ± 0.005 g) slowed significantly during early development compared with control tadpoles (0.105 g ± 0.004 g); however, there was no significant difference in final metamorphosis mass between 16% sw (0.192 g ± 0.008 g) and control tadpoles (0.226 ± 0.006 g). Time taken to reach metamorphosis was greater for 16% sw tadpoles (84 ± 1.8 days) than for control tadpoles (55 ± 0.84 days). Tadpoles at salinity concentrations of 4% sw, 8% sw and 12% sw were significantly heavier than control tadpoles at metamorphosis. Our results show that moderate levels of salinity (16% sw) are sufficient to significantly reduce survival and retard development of tadpoles of L. ewingii.


Acknowledgments

We thank Gerry Quinn and Ranmalee Eramudugolla for statistical advice, Amy Scott for help with setup of experiments and Shaun Johnson for data management. We thank Gerry Marantelli from the Amphibian Research Centre for technical advice and supply of eggs. This study was conducted under Animal Ethics approval BSCI2004/10 from Monash University.


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