Recent shifts in taxonomic compositions of water frog populations (Anura: Pelophylax) inhabiting fish ponds in southern Poland

We found four different water frog population compositions: two with only P. ridibundus, one composed of P. lessonae and P. esculentus, three with P. ridibundus and P. esculentus, and three containing all three water frog taxa. Historical data show that the area was previously inhabited by lessonae-esculentus populations. We propose that both ecological and genetic replacement by expanding P. ridibundus may have contributed to the decline of the former. Overall, 18% of P. ridibundus frogs contained introgressed P. lessonae mtDNA, however, the frequency of introgressants was most pronounced in populations with a high proportion of P. esculentus. Exotic water frogs were not detected in the study area. Leer más.