Amphibian breeding site characteristics in the Western Carpathians, Poland

The status of amphibian populations in the eastern part of the Western Carp athians, Poland, was investigated by assessing the number and ecological ch aracteristics of breeding sites. Breeding populations of Salamandra salaman dra, Triturus cristatus, T. vulgaris, T. montandoni, T. vulgaris x T. monta ndoni hybrids, T. alpestris, Bombina variegata, Bufo bufo, Bufo viridis and Rana temporaria were found. A total of 171 breeding sites together with th eir surrounding terrestrial habitats were examined for 11 environmental hab itat parameters and data on presence/ absence of other amphibians were reco rded. A Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was performed to relate the species composition to the set of environmental variables. The first axis clearly differentiated S. salamandra from all other species, which were mos t clearly separated along the second axis. This second axis can be interpre ted as a gradient of permanency and abundance of water vegetation. Generall y, the CCA showed that environmental gradients were short, which reflects t he limited range of habitats available for the amphibians in the area. C-te sts revealed that two breeding assemblages could be distinguished. The firs t comprised newts of the genus Triturus, together with B. variegata; the se cond assemblage was composed of Bufo bufo and R. temporaria. The number of breeding species at a site was positively correlated with the surface area, "clay pit" habitat type and depth, but negatively with the "oxbow" and "st ream" habitat types. Some 84% of all breeding sites were of human origin, t he majority of them being small, transient water bodies such as wheel-ruts and roadside ditches. To keep the amphibian abundance in the study area at the present level, continuous human activity in creating and maintaining su ch suitable sites is necessary.