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2nd World Congress of Herpetology
Author(s) -
JEHLE ROBERT,
HÖDL WALTER,
THONKE AMELI
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1995.tb00551.x
Subject(s) - triturus , amphibian , bufo , fauna , toad , herpetology , biology , ecology , habitat , population , zoology , demography , sociology
During a long‐term study of the amphibian fauna on an artificial island near Vienna (Austria), one isolated site was completely encircled with a permanent drift fence and pitfall traps. Eleven amphibian species occurred at the study site. For the Common Spadefoot Toad ( Pelobates fuscus ) and for the Danube Crested Newt ( Triturus dobrogicus ). individuals could be recognized by photographing the highly variable dorsal/ventral patterns. Daily patrols of the drift fence, for 6 years since 1986, enabled us to monitor the demography and dynamics of these two species. For T. dobrogicus , the adult part of the censused population decreased from 207 to 87 individuals during the first 2 years of investigation and then remained stable. Pelobates fuscus showed a constant decrease over 6 years, from 626 to 62 individuals. Juveniles were produced annually; a massive increase in this age class was observed for both species during the period of investigation. Triturus dobrogicus showed higher adult survival than P. fuscus . The constancy of several population parameters of both species may reflect the stability of the cultured parkland habitat in which the study site is located.