Animals have evolved a number of ways to protect themselves from the harmful effects of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, but little is known about the relative importance of different mechanisms protecting amphibian embryos from UV-B radiation. Using enzymatic removal of gelatinous coats (jelly envelope) surrounding the eggs of Rana temporaria, we tested the hypothesis that the jelly envelope acts as a sunscreen that protects embryos from harmful effects of UV-B radiation. We conducted two independent factorial laboratory experiments employing three different UV-B (no UV-B, normal, and enhanced) levels and jelly removal (control, modified, and completely removed) treatments. We found no UV-B × jelly removal treatment interactions in survival rates or in frequency of abnormal individuals, suggesting that jelly removal did not increase susceptibility of embryos to UV-B radiation. These results support the contention that the jelly envelope is not the most important means of protecting R. temporaria embryos from UV-B radiation. Other factors (e.g., melanin pigments, other sunscreen compounds, effective DNA-repair mechanisms) must be responsible for the high UV-B radiation tolerance of embryos.
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September 2003
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September 01 2003
DOES JELLY ENVELOPE PROTECT THE COMMON FROG RANA TEMPORARIA EMBRYOS FROM UV-B RADIATION?
Katja Räsänen;
Katja Räsänen
Department of Population Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 d, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
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Maarit Pahkala;
Maarit Pahkala
Department of Population Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 d, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
Present Address: Department of Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland
Correspondence: [email protected]
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Anssi Laurila;
Anssi Laurila
Department of Population Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 d, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
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Juha Merilä
Juha Merilä
Department of Population Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 d, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
Present Address: Ecological Genetics Research Unit, Department of Ecology and Systematics, PO Box 65, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
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Herpetologica (2003) 59 (3): 293–300.
Citation
Katja Räsänen, Maarit Pahkala, Anssi Laurila, Juha Merilä; DOES JELLY ENVELOPE PROTECT THE COMMON FROG RANA TEMPORARIA EMBRYOS FROM UV-B RADIATION?. Herpetologica 1 September 2003; 59 (3): 293–300. doi: https://doi.org/10.1655/01-105
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