Breeding site fidelity in the Japanese toad, Bufo japonicus formosus

A breeding population of Japanese toads, Bufo japonicus formosus was studie d at two ponds in Yamakita-machi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, during the th ree breeding seasons of 1992-1994. The movement of toads between the ponds was monitored by mark-recapture studies. Although the two ponds were only 3 0 m apart, most toads did not switch ponds within or between years. A binom ial test and bootstrap simulation rejected the null hypothesis that individ ual toads selected their breeding ponds randomly from year to year. Mating success and other ecological and behavioural characteristics were compared between male toads that exhibited site fidelity and those that switched pon ds during the study period, but we could not detect any significant differe nces between them. This study demonstrated strong site fidelity in B. j. fo rmosus, but failed to show quantitative advantages or disadvantages of retu rning annually to the same pond.