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Distribution and Extinction Patterns within a Northern Metapopulation of the Pool Frog, Rana Lessonae
Author(s) -
Gulve Per Sjogren
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1937460
Subject(s) - metapopulation , ecology , extinction (optical mineralogy) , biology , population , local extinction , biological dispersal , demography , paleontology , sociology
The distribution and extinction patterns within a northern metapopulation of the pool frog (Rana lessonae) were analyzed with reference to a metapopulation theory. Occupied ponds were permanent and differed from unoccupied ones in terms of higher water temperature during May—June and a closer proximity to neighboring pool—frog localities, but local climate was not spatially autocorrelated. Two types of population extinctions occurred (average rate = 2% per population and year): (1) deterministic extinctions due to succession or draining pool—frog pond, and (2) extinctions of populations whose isolation had increased to a critical degree because of Type 1 extinctions of neighboring populations, increasing their susceptibility to predation and combined demographic/environmental stochasticity. The Type 2 extinctions were spatially correlated to a moderate degree, which may reflect the great impact of environmental stochasticity in the system. The results confirm and emphasize the importance of interpopulation proximity and connectivity of metapopulation persistence.