Primary and secondary phenology. Does it pay a frog to breed early?
This study examines the consequences of variation in the laying and hatching date for the time of metamorphosis in the common frog Rana temporaria. Field data are presented showing that eggs laid early tend to take longer to develop. Thus, the time advantage for early eggs is reduced at the time of hatching. There was an among-year variation in this phenomenon; it was not manifest in a phenologica