Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/922320

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Title
Rapid turnover in site occupancy of a pond-breeding frog demonstrates the need for landscape-level management
Author/Creator
Hamer, Andrew J.;  Mahony, Michael J.
Institution
The University of Newcastle. Faculty of Science & Information Technology, School of Environmental and Life Sciences
Description
Habitat loss and habitat isolation have contributed to declines in the green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea) over much of its former range in south-eastern Australia. Understanding the parameters critical for the persistence of extant populations is required to halt further declines. We assessed waterbody occupancy in a local network of potential L. aurea breeding habitats on Kooragang Island, Australia, by conducting surveys over two years (2000 and 2001) at 30 waterbodies, and using site-occupancy models. The probability that a waterbody was used by L. aurea in 2000 increased with increasing waterbody area, and decreasing distance to the nearest waterbody where L. aurea was detected and where reproductive recruitment was observed. Large waterbodies where high numbers of L. aurea were detected in 2000 were more likely to be used in 2001. The probability that a waterbody used in 2000 was not used in 2001 (i.e., turnover) decreased with increasing waterbody area and increasing numbers of L. aurea detected at the site in 2000. Our results demonstrate the potential for frog abundance, immigration, and recruitment to reduce local turnover. We recommend that conservation strategies for extant populations of L. aurea protect mosaics of wetland habitat and maintain connectivity among waterbodies.
Relation
Wetlands: the Journal of the Society of Wetland Scientists Vol. 30, Issue 2, p. 287-299
Publisher Link
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0029-7
Date
2010
Publisher
Springer
Keyword(s)
amphibian;  conservation;  endangered species;  habitat model;  Litoria aurea;  patch-occupancy dynamics
Resource Type
journal article
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/922320
Identifier
ISSN:0277-5212
Reviewed
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"Wetlands: the journal of the Society of Wetland Scientists"
 
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