Abstract
The presence of unidentified cryptic species can cause estimates of total species richness to be much lower than they actually are. Because the assigning of protected areas is contingent on the amount of species present and the number of which are endemic, it is imperative to try and correctly identify distinct species. This particular study focused on organizing the morphological data on Guibemantis Pandanusicola to identify possible cryptic species within defined groups. A total of 283 specimen were catalogued and divided into 16 different groups to create subsequent scatter plots. Species uniformity was judged based on how tightly the points were packed. Photographs of individuals were included to show either uniformity or variances in coloration and genotyping from previous studies was used to interpret the inclusion of different species in one particular group. Independent T-tests were also conducted on species that passed normality to evaluate if sexual dimorphism was at all present. The overall conclusion of this study was that the morphological data supports the hypothesis of cryptic and distinct species being categorized as one species as well as Guibemantis punctatusand Guibemantis pulcher being dimorphic in both Snout-vent-length and tympanum diameter.
Advisor
Lehtinen, Rick
Department
Biology
Recommended Citation
Pavlecic, Samantha R., "The Hunt for Undiscovered Species of Frogs in Madagascar" (2021). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 11725.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/11725
Disciplines
Life Sciences
Keywords
Biodiversity, Madagascar, Cryptic Species, Frogs
Publication Date
2021
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2021 Samantha R. Pavlecic