Albino Tadpoles - the saga continues...
These are some of the common frog tadpoles (Rana temporaria) that I have raised from the albino spawn found in February. They are close to metamorphosis, and show some interesting points: First, the pigmentation is almost normal, having developed shortly after hatching (see below for what they looked like!) - I think they may be slightly lighter than usual, but not so you would notice. Secondly, almost all of them show a kink in the tail - either to the left or right, suggesting pleiotropy or linkage of some kind to the albinism allele. All of which suggests a classic 'founder effect' scenario but also reminds me how a harmful but recessive allele can persist in a population despite the deleterious consequences. I'll try to raise the froglets for a month or two, to see how they go.
Albino Tadpoles - the saga continues...
These are some of the common frog tadpoles (Rana temporaria) that I have raised from the albino spawn found in February. They are close to metamorphosis, and show some interesting points: First, the pigmentation is almost normal, having developed shortly after hatching (see below for what they looked like!) - I think they may be slightly lighter than usual, but not so you would notice. Secondly, almost all of them show a kink in the tail - either to the left or right, suggesting pleiotropy or linkage of some kind to the albinism allele. All of which suggests a classic 'founder effect' scenario but also reminds me how a harmful but recessive allele can persist in a population despite the deleterious consequences. I'll try to raise the froglets for a month or two, to see how they go.