IDENTIFYING THE MINIMAL DEMOGRAPHIC UNIT FOR MONITORING POND‐BREEDING AMPHIBIANS

Ecological Applications - Tập 14 Số 4 - Trang 1065-1078 - 2004
James W. Petranka1, Charles K. Smith2, Anna Scott3
1Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina 28804-3299 USA
2Department of Biology, High Point University, High Point, North Carolina 27262 USA
3Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University,Clarksville, Tennessee 37044 USA

Tóm tắt

Amphibians are declining globally, and efforts are underway to establish long‐term programs to monitor population trends. Because researchers are constrained to sampling a small subset of populations that occur across a landscape, monitoring units should be selected that maximize the statistical independence of population responses to environmental stressors. Breeding sites of pond‐breeding amphibians are often clustered locally, and habitat switching between neighboring ponds could significantly compromise both demographic and statistical independence. This raises a fundamental issue of whether the basic monitoring unit for trend analysis should be an individual pond or a cluster of local ponds. To help resolve the degree of demographic independence within a cluster of local ponds, we conducted a spatial‐scale analysis of breeding‐population synchrony of the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) and spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) in four national parks in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee, USA. We used the number of egg masses deposited annually from 1993 through 2002 as an index of relative breeding‐population size and used correlation coefficients of annual percentage change in population size as an index of synchrony.Within parks, synchrony for both species was independent of the distance between ponds and was lower between paired ponds within a local cluster compared with paired comparisons of geographically isolated groups. These patterns indicate a lack of demographic independence within clusters and are consistent with field observations of wholesale shifting of local pond populations to adjoining ponds. Habitat shifting occurred primarily in response to beaver activity that created new ponds or allowed fish to invade fish‐free habitats. Ambystoma maculatum shifted habitats less frequently and exhibited higher levels of within‐cluster population synchrony than R. sylvatica. Turnovers occurred for local pond populations for both species and at higher rates for R. sylvatica. However, no local pond cluster experienced a turnover event during the study. Our data suggest that pond populations that are only a few hundred meters apart are not demographically independent and are best treated as subpopulations of the same monitoring unit. We discuss the implications of these findings for amphibian‐monitoring programs that are designed to assess population trends.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Beebee T. J. C.1996. Ecology and conservation of amphibians. Chapman and Hall London UK.

10.1111/j.1558-5646.1982.tb05466.x

10.1111/j.1558-5646.1990.tb04310.x

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08010060.x

Cortwright S. A.1998. Ten- to eleven-year population trends of two pond-breeding amphibian species red-spotted newt and green frog. Pages 61–71inM. J. Lannoo editor. Status and conservation of midwestern amphibians. University of Iowa Press Iowa City Iowa USA.

Crouch W. B., 2000, Using egg mass counts to monitor wood frog populations, Wildlife Society Bulletin, 28, 895

10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.01030.x

10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0815:LTSODF]2.0.CO;2

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10020414.x

Edgington E. S.1995. Randomization tests. Third edition. Marcel Dekker New York New York USA.

10.2307/1313297

10.2307/2937297

Green D. M.1997. Amphibian decline: Canadian studies of a global problem. Herpetological Conservation Number 1. Society for the Study of Amphibian and Reptiles Saint Louis Missouri USA.

10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.930217.x

Hairston N. G., 1993, No decline in salamander (Amphibia: Caudata) populations: a twenty year study in the southern Appalachians, Brimleyana, 18, 59

10.2307/5386

10.1111/j.1095-8312.1991.tb00552.x

10.2307/2265703

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1997.96096.x

Hopey M. E. andJ. W.Petranka.1994. Restriction of wood frogs to fish-free habitats: how important is adult choice versus direct predation? Copeia 1994:1023–1025.

10.1038/35008052

10.1038/35041562

10.2307/3565968

Kats L. B. andA.Sih.1992. Oviposition site selection and avoidance of fish by streamside salamanders (Ambystoma barbouri). Copeia 1992:468–473.

10.2307/2426257

10.1674/0003-0031(2001)145[0388:CORWBA]2.0.CO;2

Marcus M. J. andW. W.Smith.1993. Pages 170–174inM. C. Landin editor. Wetlands: proceedings of the 13th annual conference. Society of Wetland Scientists New Orleans Louisiana.

10.1890/0012-9658(2001)082[1283:BADROT]2.0.CO;2

10.1111/j.1523-1739.2001.00129.x

McCullough D. R.1996. Metapopulations and wildlife conservation. Island Press Washington D.C. USA.

10.1098/rspb.1998.0326

10.1071/ZO9530291

Mossman M. J. L. M.Hartman R.Hay J. R.Sauer andB. J.Dhuey.1998. Monitoring long-term trends in Wisconsin frog and toad populations. Pages 169–198inM. L. Lannoo editor. Status and conservation of Midwestern amphibians. University of Iowa Press Iowa City Iowa USA.

10.1046/j.1365-294X.2001.01255.x

10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[2112:SSIPOB]2.0.CO;2

10.1672/0277-5212(2001)021[0093:ACAUOP]2.0.CO;2

10.1126/science.253.5022.892

Pechmann J. H. K., 1994, Putting declining amphibian populations in perspective: natural fluctuations and human impacts, Herpetologica, 50, 65

Petranka J. W.1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press Washington D.C. USA.

Petranka J. W. M. E.Hopey B. T.Jennings S. D.Baird andS. J.Boone.1994. Breeding habitat segregation of wood frogs and American toads: the role of interspecific tadpole predation and adult choice. Copeia 1994:691–697.

Petranka J. W., 1998, Predation by tadpoles of Rana sylvatica on embryos of Ambystoma maculatum: implications of ecological role reversals by Rana (predator) and Ambystoma (prey), Herpetologica, 54, 1

Petranka J. W. andC. K.Smith.1995. Protocol manual for long-term monitoring of amphibians in GRSM-BLRI-CUGA-MACA. National Park Service Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gatlinburg Tennessee USA.

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1997.95485.x

10.2307/3546852

10.2307/1938428

Richter K. O.1997. Criteria for the restoration and creation of wetland habitats of lentic-breeding amphibians of the Pacific Northwest. Pages 72–94inK. B. MacDonald and F. Wienmann editors. Wetland and riparian restoration: taking a broader view. Publication EPA 910-R-97-007. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 Seattle Washington USA.

10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.890119.x

10.2307/1312741

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.97274.x

Semlitsch R. D. D. E.Scott J. H. K.Pechmann andJ. W.Gibbons.1996. Structure and dynamics of an amphibian community: evidence from a 16-year study of a natural pond. Pages 217–248inM. L. Cody and J. Smallwood editors. Long-term studies of vertebrate communities. Academic Press San Diego California USA.

10.2307/1539630

10.1111/j.1095-8312.1991.tb00556.x

10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[2326:LTDDOA]2.0.CO;2

10.1007/s004420050073

10.1655/0018-0831(2002)058[0119:FPSITW]2.0.CO;2

Stebbins R. C. andN. W.Cohen.1995. A natural history of amphibians. Princeton University Press Princeton New Jersey USA.

10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0090:ACSOSW]2.0.CO;2

10.2307/2937153

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1997.96102.x

10.1890/0012-9658(2001)082[3519:SADAID]2.0.CO;2

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Ecological Applications

Tập 14 Số 4

1065-1078

Thông tin tác giả