Effects of abiotic and biotic factors on tadpole occurrence and abundance in seasonal rock pools of rock outcrops, northern Western Ghats

IF 1.7 4区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Aquatic Ecology Pub Date : 2025-04-04 DOI:10.1007/s10452-025-10195-w

Vijayan Jithin, Rohit Naniwadekar

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Freshwater rock pools formed due to erosion and weathering in outcrops are known to act as essential frog breeding habitats. In the northern part of the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot, large freshwater rock pools are shown to be important for adult stage of three species of frogs: Jaladhara Skittering Frog (Euphlyctis jaladhara), Nilphamari Narrow-mouthed Frog (Microhyla nilphamariensis), and Common Indian Treefrog (Polypedates maculatus). Previous studies have thus recommended conservation of existing rock pools and restoration or creation of rock pools for amphibian conservation, in light of reduced rock pool availability due to rapid conversion of outcrops to orchards. To this end, knowledge of tadpole ecology in the rock pools is essential for further research and conservation actions. We assessed the influence of abiotic (pool size, monsoon progression) and biotic (predator abundances) factors on occurrence and abundance of tadpoles of the three species by periodically monitoring the ephemeral freshwater rock pools in lateritic plateaus of the northern Western Ghats. Tadpole occurrences and abundances were negatively associated with monsoon progression, and not associated with predator abundances for all species, while they were positively associated with rock pool size, species-specifically.

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非生物和生物因素对西高止山脉北部岩石露头季节性岩石池中蝌蚪发生和丰度的影响

由于露头的侵蚀和风化而形成的淡水岩池是青蛙繁殖的重要栖息地。在西高止山脉北部的斯里兰卡生物多样性热点地区，大型淡水岩石池对三种蛙类（Jaladhara Skittering Frog, Euphlyctis Jaladhara）、Nilphamari窄口蛙（Microhyla nilphamariensis）和印度普通树蛙（Polypedates maculatus）的成虫阶段非常重要。因此，先前的研究建议保护现有的岩石池，并恢复或创建岩石池，以保护两栖动物，因为岩石池的可用性由于露头迅速转化为果园而减少。为此，了解岩石池中蝌蚪生态对进一步的研究和保护行动至关重要。我们通过定期监测西高止山脉北部红土高原的短暂淡水岩石池，评估了非生物（池大小、季风进程）和生物（捕食者丰度）因素对这三种物种蝌蚪发生和丰度的影响。蝌蚪的发生和丰度与季风进程呈负相关，与所有物种的捕食者丰度无关，而与岩石池大小呈正相关。

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来源期刊

Aquatic Ecology 环境科学-海洋与淡水生物学

CiteScore

3.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Aquatic Ecology publishes timely, peer-reviewed original papers relating to the ecology of fresh, brackish, estuarine and marine environments. Papers on fundamental and applied novel research in both the field and the laboratory, including descriptive or experimental studies, will be included in the journal. Preference will be given to studies that address timely and current topics and are integrative and critical in approach. We discourage papers that describe presence and abundance of aquatic biota in local habitats as well as papers that are pure systematic. The journal provides a forum for the aquatic ecologist - limnologist and oceanologist alike- to discuss ecological issues related to processes and structures at different integration levels from individuals to populations, to communities and entire ecosystems.