Inbreeding and road effect zone in a Ranidae:: the case of Agile frog, Rana dalmatina Bonaparte, 1840

Inbreeding has often been invoked in the extinction of local populations. In eleven western France populations of Agile frog studied, observed heterozygosity was significantly lower than expected in all cases, giving new evidence of such a depression in small populations. It especially occurred in ponds located near an highway rather than in undisturbed populations (F-IS = 0.544 and 0.315, respectively). Thus, our results argue for a "road effect zone". Discussing about road distance and conservation policies, we propose that roads are directly involved in inbreeding and in local extinction. Thus, road construction ought to consider conservation management. (C) 2003 Academie des sciences. Published by Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.