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Population Patterns of a Riparian Frog ( Rana swinhoana) Before and After an Earthquake in Subtropical Taiwan
Author(s) -
Lai YungChih,
Shieh BaoSen,
Kam YeongChoy
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
biotropica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1744-7429
pISSN - 0006-3606
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2007.00320.x
Subject(s) - riparian zone , population , ecology , disturbance (geology) , habitat , subtropics , vegetation (pathology) , riparian forest , geography , biology , geology , geomorphology , medicine , demography , pathology , sociology
We compared the population dynamics of a riparian ranid frog, Rana swinhoana, before (1996–1999) and after (1999–2001) a strong earthquake. This earthquake caused little disturbance to the vegetation and landscape of the study site but the stream and ponds dried up within a week. Nearly all frogs marked (1002 of 1004) before the earthquake had disappeared after the earthquake. Smaller, unmarked frogs began to appear in stream habitats about 9 mo after the earthquake, and the frog population was much smaller than it was before the earthquake. Population dynamics and temporal and spatial distribution of frogs before and after the earthquake correlated closely with the hydrology of the stream and ponds. The movement patterns of frogs before and after the earthquake were similar, suggesting frog behavior did not change in response to drastic changes in hydrology, and frogs continued to exhibit strong site‐fidelity. Following the earthquake, stream water volume was much lower, especially in the summer, which allowed the normally winter‐breeding frogs to breed year‐round. Results demonstrate that a population of R. swinhoana can disappear suddenly as the result of a natural disturbance. We propose that anuran species that exhibit strong site‐fidelity are particularly susceptible to extirpation of local populations because frogs may lack the behavioral plasticity to respond to sudden water depletion.