What is it about?

Pelophylax shqipericus, an endemic frog species of Albania and Montenegro is endangered due to aggressive collection, habitat fragmentation and pollution. Developing a successful assisted reproduction technique will help in conserving this species.

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Why is it important?

Why is it important? Currently, ART has been applied to only a few amphibian species worldwide, so there is still limited knowledge on the best efficient and safe methodologies to induce in vitro fertilization. Over the past 6 years, in Albania, the in vitro fertilization technique has started to be applied successfully in frogs. Being an important part of evaluation of frog in vitro fertilization success, the characterization of the sperm traits, like morphometry, motility and viability is expected to have important effects on frog male fertility. Thus, establishing a full protocol of assisted reproduction, is an urgent need and a great contribution towards the conservation of this endemic and threatened species.

Perspectives

Writing this article was a great pleasure as it has to do with an endemic, endangered species of Albania. Understanding the physiology of Albanian water frog can help us in conservation of this species.

Prof. Dr. Valbona V Aliko
University of Tirana, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Biology

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Characterization of Albanian water frog, Pelophylax shqipericus , sperm traits and morphology, by using phase contrast microscopy, Microscopy Research and Technique, July 2019, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/jemt.23346.
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