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1 February 2006 Rates of Cutaneous Evaporative Water Loss of Native Fijian Frogs
Jeanne E. Young, Christopher R. Tracy, Keith A. Christian, Lorrae J. McArthur
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Abstract

Rates of evaporative water loss (EWL) and cutaneous resistance (Rc) to water flux were measured for the two native frog species from the Fiji Islands: the Fiji Ground Frog, Platymantis vitianus, and the Fiji Tree Frog, Platymantis vitiensis (Anura: Ranidae). Surface area specific evaporative water loss was similar between the species: 10.2 (± 1.7) and 9.0 (± 1.7) mg cm−2 h−1 for P. vitiensis and P. vitianus, respectively. The total resistance (Rt) to water loss did not differ from estimates of similarly sized and shaped agar models (representative of a free water surface) for either species; thus, native Fijian frogs are “typical” anurans that have negligible cutaneous resistance (Rc) to EWL. Platymantis vitiensis is apparently able to exploit an arboreal habit, despite the concomitant increase in desiccating conditions, because of the humid environment of the Fiji Islands and by living near streams and rivers.

The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Jeanne E. Young, Christopher R. Tracy, Keith A. Christian, and Lorrae J. McArthur "Rates of Cutaneous Evaporative Water Loss of Native Fijian Frogs," Copeia 2006(1), 83-88, (1 February 2006). https://doi.org/10.1643/0045-8511(2006)006[0083:ROCEWL]2.0.CO;2
Received: 23 January 2005; Accepted: 15 September 2005; Published: 1 February 2006
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