Ck. Dodd et Bs. Cade, MOVEMENT PATTERNS AND THE CONSERVATION OF AMPHIBIANS BREEDING IN SMALL, TEMPORARY WETLANDS, Conservation biology, 12(2), 1998, pp. 331-339
Many amphibians breed in water but live most of their lives in terrest
rial habitats Little is known, however, about the spatial distribution
of these habitats or of the distances and directions amphibians move
to reach breeding sites. The amphibian community at a small, temporary
pond in northcentral Florida was monitored for 5 years. Based on capt
ures and recaptures of more than 2500 striped newts (Notophthalmus per
striatus) and 5700 eastern narrow-mouthed tends (Gastrophryne caroline
nsis), we tabulated the angles of orientation that these amphibians en
tered and excited the pond basin. Our results showed that movements of
these species between the pond and terrestrial habitats were nonrando
m in orientation but that narrow corridors did not appear to be used.
Differences between the species likely reflect differences in habitat
preferences, whereas intraspecific differences among years and between
the sexes likely reflect variation among individuals. For terrestrial
buffer zones to be effective at conserving pond-breeding amphibian co
mmunities, they need both a distance and a directional component. The
determination of a directional component may be obscured if studies ar
e carried out over a short time span Conservation efforts for wetland-
breeding amphibians that concentrate solely on the wetland likely will
fail without consideration of the adjacent terrestrial habitat.