摘要

We studied demographic traits of a subtropical frog, Rana nigromaculata, in two populations from different altitudes (300 and 800 m) in southwestern China over two successive years (April 2008 and 2009). Frogs from high altitudes tended to be smaller than frogs from low altitudes, but the average age of males and females did not differ between populations. Females were significantly older than males. There was a non-significant relationship between age and body size for both sexes in the high altitude population, and for males in the low altitude population. In both populations, growth rates of females were significantly higher than in males, with individuals at high altitude showing a higher growth rate than at low altitude. When the effect of age on body size was controlled for, body size of both males and females was significantly larger at low altitude.