Download or read book Effects of Habitat Characteristics on Amphibian Use of Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments written by David Anthony Dimitrie and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Habitat characteristics can affect how organisms use environments. Individuals are expected to have evolved the ability assess habitat quality to maximize their fitness. I investigated the effects of habitat characteristics on aquatic and terrestrial environment use in multiple amphibian life-stages. In Chapter 1, I investigated how female breeding habitat selection is influenced by competitors and how this affects offspring performance. Female eastern gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) used pools without larval competitors more than pools with green frog (Rana clamitans) or bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) tadpoles. Treefrog tadpoles developed faster and grew larger without heterospecifics, indicating larval performance matched female preference. Males may use habitat quality cues differently. In Chapter 2, I evaluated male use of these same habitats and the male quality as potential mates for females using recordings of male advertisement calls. Males used pools with heterospecifics the same as pools without, and the advertisements of males at all habitat types were similar. Thus, while females avoided pools with heterospecifics, males did not. In Chapter 3, I tested if male treefrogs using fringe habitats differ from residents at an adjacent core pond by comparing the calls of males in both habitats. I also evaluated how fringe males changed their calls at the core pond. Fringe males produced more yet shorter calls than males in the core habitat, but called at a similar effort. When fringe males were moved to the core habitat, they adjusted their calls to match the core males. Finally, in Chapter 4, I investigated how the terrestrial environment affects juvenile development. In collaboration with David Burke at the Holden Arboretum, I tested how forest acidification affects the American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) and its interaction with the invertebrate community. Toads tended to grow larger in elevated soil pH, although survival and diet were not affected by pH. I found no effect of pH on the invertebrate community or forest floor trophic dynamics. My studies found that biotic and abiotic habitat characteristics can affect amphibian development and male and female use of breeding habitats in complex ways. These effects have implications for individual fitness, population dynamics, and community assembly.
Download or read book The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians written by Kentwood D. Wells and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-02-15 with total page 1162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consisting of more than six thousand species, amphibians are more diverse than mammals and are found on every continent save Antarctica. Despite the abundance and diversity of these animals, many aspects of the biology of amphibians remain unstudied or misunderstood. The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians aims to fill this gap in the literature on this remarkable taxon. It is a celebration of the diversity of amphibian life and the ecological and behavioral adaptations that have made it a successful component of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Synthesizing seventy years of research on amphibian biology, Kentwood D. Wells addresses all major areas of inquiry, including phylogeny, classification, and morphology; aspects of physiological ecology such as water and temperature relations, respiration, metabolism, and energetics; movements and orientation; communication and social behavior; reproduction and parental care; ecology and behavior of amphibian larvae and ecological aspects of metamorphosis; ecological impact of predation on amphibian populations and antipredator defenses; and aspects of amphibian community ecology. With an eye towards modern concerns, The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians concludes with a chapter devoted to amphibian conservation. An unprecedented scholarly contribution to amphibian biology, this book is eagerly anticipated among specialists.
Download or read book The Effects of Disturbance on Aquatic Breeding Amphibians Within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park written by Simon K. Dinehart and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Amphibian conservation action plan proceedings IUCN SSC Amphibian Conservation Summit 2005 written by and published by IUCN. This book was released on 2007 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Evaluating the Conservation Potential of Urban and Rural Ecosystems for Aquatic breeding Amphibians written by Jemma Green and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conservation of aquatic-breeding amphibian populations and their habitats is increasingly challenged by urban and rural development, which is occurring more intensively and more rapidly than ever before. Some species are now impacted by development throughout their range. This has forced a re-evaluation of the potential of developed landscapes for providing habitat and contributing to regional conservation strategies. For many amphibians, little is known about the criteria necessary for persistence in a developed landscape. Considerable variation in the physiology, habitat requirements, and movement behaviour of amphibians suggests that responses to habitat loss, alteration, and fragmentation are species-specific. In this thesis, I investigate species-habitat relationships for the northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora) and the Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla) in a mixed urban-rural landscape in southwestern British Columbia to evaluate the potential for species persistence despite urban and rural development throughout their range. I used repeat auditory surveys of the species' breeding chorus to determine presence or absence at potential breeding wetlands. I then related species occurrence and abundance to characteristics of the aquatic and terrestrial environment measured at multiple spatial scales. Both species were found to use rural and urban wetlands, though R. aurora were rarely detected while P. regilla were common. Occurrence was best explained by characteristics of the terrestrial environment, rather than within-wetland characteristics, though influential terrestrial characteristics and their scale of impact differed between species. Within the context of the developed landscape, I identify species-specific positive and negative habitat associations and suggest the spatial scales at which management of these habitat characteristics will be most effective. These criteria may help to explain the species' current distribution, prioritize management strategies, predict the effectiveness of habitat conservation and restoration projects, and inform development in municipalities seeking to maintain or enhance amphibian diversity.
Download or read book Effects of the Aquatic to Terrestrial Habitat Ratio on an Amphibian Predator and Its Prey written by Amber Burgett Kramer and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation explores the effects of varying the composition of aquatic and terrestrial habitats in a landscape (the aquatic to terrestrial ratio) on amphibians that use both the aquatic and terrestrial habitats during their lives. In Chapter 1, I first used meta-analysis and simulations to demonstrate that as the longevity of an amphibian increases, the elasticity of the population growth rate to perturbations in the aquatic (larval) habitat decreases. In Chapter 2, I examined the abundance of larvae of a long-lived amphibian, Ambystoma maculatum, across landscapes that varied in their aquatic to terrestrial ratios and found that larvae of this species were more dense in landscapes where aquatic habitat was scarce relative to terrestrial habitat. Because larval A. maculatum are top predators, they had more dramatic effects on the community composition of their prey in these isolated habitats, suggesting a result opposite to traditional metacommunity theory. In Chapter 3, I monitored the population level response of two common prey species, tadpoles of grey tree frogs (Hyla versicolor) and Blandchard's cricket frogs (Acris crepitans) to the presence and absence of predatory laval A. maculatum in large-scale experimental ponds. These prey species have very different longevities, and therefore differential use of the aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Population-level results suggest that, as expected, A. maculatum had a larger influence on the population dynamics of the shorter-lived A. crepitans than on H. versicolor. Finally, in Chapter 4, I found that the abundance of aquatic habitat in an area influences the ability of A. maculatum females to discern between oviposition sites of varying qualities. Studies of declining populations of amphibians typically focus on aquatic habitat and factors that affect larval survivorship and growth therein. However, this dissertation highlights the importance of both the aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and the ratio between the two, to overall population dynamics of amphibian species. These results will become more important as anthropogenic habitat destruction not only leads to an absolute loss of habitat, but also potentially alters the ratio of aquatic to terrestrial habitats on which amphibians depend.
Download or read book A Framework for Amphibian Habitat Conservation Across Spatial Scales Using Community Occupancy Models written by Vishnupriya Sankararaman and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural intensification and loss of native forest habitats have presented the most ubiquitous threats to faunal communities across the world. These land use modifications have caused loss of species richness, genetic diversity, biotic homogenization, and increased dominance structure from local, regional to global scales. Amphibians are amongst the most endangered vertebrate groups with high susceptibility to habitat modification. Their biphasic life history, poor mobility and low tolerance to chemical pollutants make it difficult for most species to adapt to intensively managed land uses. To combat pressures from habitat loss, commodity agroforests are recommended as suitable secondary habitats for many threatened faunal communities. However, there is little applied research on how individual land management strategies at various spatial scales can help design more wildlife-friendly landscapes. The research presented in this dissertation, uses community ecology theory to examine: (1) how land use gradients shape amphibian species and communities across local and regional spatial extents, (2) how individually evolved life history strategies influence adaptations to different habitats and land uses, (3) how conservation objectives and decisions can shape land use design in terrestrial and aquatic environments to maximize conservation potential of agroforests. In the first chapter, I studied patterns in alpha and beta diversity across areca, coffee and rubber agroforests across Karnataka's Western Ghats. A total of 106 agroforests across a 30,000 km2 landscape were surveyed for amphibians, and a multispecies occupancy model approach was used to analyze and estimate community-level and species-specific parameters. The broad-scale influence of elevation and latitude and fine-scale influences of microhabitat availability were examined on species occurrences. The availability and heterogeneity of microhabitats were also used to predict species occurrences. Overall, a heterogenous land use such as shade-grown coffee hosted much higher species richness than the more intensively managed areca and rubber agroforests. Our results indicate that site-specific diversity can be enhanced with careful management. The preservation of aquatic and terrestrial microhabitats can increase amphibian species richness by up to 75% in each agroforest. The second chapter focuses on examining the influence of life history traits on species occupancy and community structure across terrestrial and stream habitats in different land uses. I surveyed 223 transects for amphibians across tea, coffee and forest fragments in the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats. A joint-species distribution model was used to estimate species occupancies and cooccurrence patterns. Species richness was highest in forest fragments followed by coffee and lowest in tea agroforests. Life-history traits clearly defined habitat use, with fast-water breeding amphibians preferring forested streams first, followed by streams in coffee and the lowest occupancy was observed in tea streams. Slow-water breeding amphibians showed a reverse trend with higher preference for tea over coffee and forest stream sites. The study also revealed important patterns in species distributions across elevational ranges and the influence of annual climate patterns on amphibian populations. The results from this chapter highlight the importance of focusing conservation attention on amphibians with torrential habitat associations as they are the most vulnerable to land use intensification. In chapter three, I advance the understanding of amphibian community structure at broader spatial scales. Using results from chapter two, I estimate pairwise species dissimilarity across sites and examine the role of geographic distances, environmental distances, watershed aspects and land use on beta diversity. The mean beta diversity was lowest for within forest sites and highest for comparisons between coffee and forests. Also, terrestrial habitats displayed greater heterogeneity in species compositions than stream habitats. Rather than geographic distances, the difference in elevation was one of the strongest predictors of beta diversity patterns at the regional scale. The combined influences of the different predictors indicate that prioritizing conservation management across different land uses, elevation gradients and watersheds will be most effective in maintaining the regional diversity and heterogeneity of amphibian communities in the Anamalai Hills. Finally, in the fourth chapter, I use results from all three previous research findings with additional information about ecosystem services to identify where riparian forest restoration can have optimal conservation outcomes. Prioritization was based on predicted increase in alpha diversity, and topographic wetness index (TWI), along with elevational attributes. Five alternate scenarios were set up based on these criteria. The results were tested on ten coffee sites, ten tea sites and a combination of five coffee and tea sites. Species richness was revealed to be a poor criterion for prioritization as it resulted in the most spatially aggregated portfolio of sites and with lowest predicted gamma diversity. Incorporating TWI in land use prioritization yielded much higher gamma diversity and ecosystem function benefits. I also discuss the socioeconomic implications of restoring riparian buffers for private land owners in the region and propose mechanisms by which the restoration costs can be managed. Conservation management has to be scale dependent and rely on local and regional studies to provide empirical evidence for how decisions influence outcomes. I used a combination of theories in community ecology with applied conservation science to provide greater understanding of fine-scale and broad-scale factors influencing agrobiodiversity. This research also expands the use of hierarchical community occupancy models to examine different aspects of spatial variations in multispecies assemblages, particularly in poorly-studied and hyper-diverse tropical regions.
Download or read book Amphibian Ecology and Conservation written by C. Kenneth Dodd and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the latest methodologies used to study the ecology of amphibians throughout the world. Each of the 27 chapters explains a research approach or technique, with emphasis on careful planning and the potential biases of techniques. Statistical modelling, landscape ecology, and disease are covered for the first time in a techniques handbook.
Download or read book Amphibian Conservation written by Rebecca K. Smith and published by Pelagic Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2014-05-16 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amphibian Conservation is the fourth in the series of Synopses of Conservation Evidence, linked to the online resource www.ConservationEvidence.com. This synopsis is part of the Conservation Evidence project and provides a useful resource for conservationists. It forms part of a series designed to promote a more evidence-based approach to biodiversity conservation. Others in the series include bee, bird, farmland and bat conservation and many others are in preparation. Approximately 32% of the 7,164+ amphibian species are currently threatened with extinction and at least 43% of species are declining. Despite this, until recently amphibians and their conservation had received little attention. Although work is now being carried out to conserve many species, often it is not adequately documented. This book brings together and summarises the available scientific evidence and experience relevant to the practical conservation of amphibians. The authors consulted an international group of amphibian experts and conservationists to produce a thorough summary of what is known, or not known, about the effectiveness of amphibian conservation actions across the world. "The book is packed with literature summaries and citations; a veritable information goldmine for graduate students and researchers. It also admirably provides decision makers with a well-researched resource of proven interventions that can be employed to stem/reverse the decline of amphibian populations." -John G Palis, Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society
Download or read book AMPHIBIAN CONSERVATION written by Semlitsch R and published by Smithsonian. This book was released on 2003-06-17 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading amphibian biologist Semlitsch has assembled experts to tackle the timely issue of disappearing and deformed populations of amphibians. Every environmentalist will find this book an accessible and informative examination of what many scientists have called one of the major threats to the world's biodiversity.
Download or read book Amphibian Declines written by Michael J. Lannoo and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2005-06-15 with total page 1124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Documents in comprehensive detail a major environmental crisis: rapidly declining amphibian populations and the disturbing developmental problems that are increasingly prevalent within many amphibian species.
Download or read book Invasive Species in Forests and Rangelands of the United States written by Therese M. Poland and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-02-01 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book describes the serious threat of invasive species to native ecosystems. Invasive species have caused and will continue to cause enormous ecological and economic damage with ever increasing world trade. This multi-disciplinary book, written by over 100 national experts, presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. It covers species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It is well-illustrated, provides summaries of the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country, and includes a comprehensive primary reference list for each topic. This scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, scientific and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species and will be a valuable resource for scholars, policy makers, natural resource managers and practitioners.
Download or read book Amphibian Ecology and Conservation written by C. Kenneth Dodd and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the latest methodologies used to study the ecology of amphibians throughout the world. Each of the 27 chapters explains a research approach or technique, with emphasis on careful planning and the potential biases of techniques. Statistical modelling, landscape ecology, and disease are covered for the first time in a techniques handbook.
Download or read book Monitoring Amphibians in Great Smoky Mountains National Park written by C. Kenneth Dodd and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Responses of Xishuangbanna s Frog Species to Their Environment written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate group and the main driver of amphibian population declines is habitat loss. Unfortunately, hotspots of amphibian diversity generally contain poorly studied species, and are located in areas with high rates of land cover change. This makes it a challenge to determine whether a landscape modification in a given area constitutes habitat loss for a species. I studied how amphibian species responded to two substantial changes to their aquatic and terrestrial habitats in an amphibian diversity hotspot: Xishuangbanna, southern Yunnan Province, China. Over the past thirty years, over two-thirds of Xishuangbanna's rainforests have been converted into rubber plantations, yet the impact of this land conversion on frog populations has yet to be studied. Through surveys, I discovered that no frog species use the aquatic sites in rubber plantations for breeding and only disturbance tolerant species use rubber plantations outside the breeding season. This means rubber plantations represent a complete loss of habitat for disturbance-intolerant species like treefrogs. In addition to the changes to the terrestrial landscape, Xishuangbanna's aquatic habitats have been invaded by non-native tilapia fish. Tilapia were introduced about thirty-five years ago as food and have subsequently established in the main river systems in Xishuangbanna. Through a series of experiments, I examined the plastic phenotypic responses of three common tadpole species to tilapia and native odonate larvae predators. All three tadpole species exhibited phenotypic responses to both tilapia and odonates, with each tadpole species exhibiting species-specific responses to each predator. In follow-up predation trial experiments where tadpoles with previous exposure to predators were tested with free-roaming predators, previous exposure to tilapia was maladaptive for two tadpole species. Specifically, tadpoles with previous exposure to tilapia responded to tilapia, yet these phenotypic responses resulted in reduced survival. This is likely because tilapia have a different hunting style than the native fish they replaced. Overall, the results from this work suggest that the changes to the terrestrial and aquatic habitats are detrimental to frog species and could lead to population declines.
Download or read book Amphibians Guidelines for the Breeding Care and Management of Laboratory Animals written by Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources (U.S.). Subcommittee on Amphibian Standards and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1974-01-01 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ecology and Conservation of Amphibians written by Trevor Beebee and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1996-03-31 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume sets out to provide an overview of recent research on all aspects of amphibian ecology and behaviour and to illustrate its application to practical conservation measures for this major group of animals. Its broad scope makes it of relevance to students of general biology, ecology and conservation, but also to professionals in industries and agencies involved with environmental issues and nature conservation.
