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Human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian

Invasive species and habitat modification threaten California's native pond-breeding amphibians, including the federally threatened California Red-legged Frog (Rana draytonii). The relative contributions of invasive species, including the American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), and of habi...

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Autor principal: Anderson, Rachel B.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6405065/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30845170
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213426
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author Anderson, Rachel B.
author_facet Anderson, Rachel B.
author_sort Anderson, Rachel B.
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description Invasive species and habitat modification threaten California's native pond-breeding amphibians, including the federally threatened California Red-legged Frog (Rana draytonii). The relative contributions of invasive species, including the American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), and of habitat changes to these declines are disputed. I conducted a field study over several years in central California to examine the presence/absence of these two species at 79 breeding ponds to determine the predictive role for occupancy of factors including vegetation, pond characteristics, and measures of human activity. I used a boosted regression tree approach to determine the relative value of each predictor variable. Increased measures of human activity, especially proximity to trails and roads, were the best predictors for the absence of California Red-legged Frogs and California Newts. Historical factors and habitat conditions were associated with the extent and spread of the American Bullfrog. The extent and complexity of aquatic macrophytes and pond surface area were good predictors for the presence of these and other amphibian species. Surprisingly, invasive species played a relatively small role in predicting pond occupancy by the native species. These findings can inform conservation and restoration efforts for California Red-legged Frogs, which apparently persist best in small vegetated ponds in areas of low human disturbance.
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spelling pubmed-64050652019-03-17 Human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian Anderson, Rachel B. PLoS One Research Article Invasive species and habitat modification threaten California's native pond-breeding amphibians, including the federally threatened California Red-legged Frog (Rana draytonii). The relative contributions of invasive species, including the American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), and of habitat changes to these declines are disputed. I conducted a field study over several years in central California to examine the presence/absence of these two species at 79 breeding ponds to determine the predictive role for occupancy of factors including vegetation, pond characteristics, and measures of human activity. I used a boosted regression tree approach to determine the relative value of each predictor variable. Increased measures of human activity, especially proximity to trails and roads, were the best predictors for the absence of California Red-legged Frogs and California Newts. Historical factors and habitat conditions were associated with the extent and spread of the American Bullfrog. The extent and complexity of aquatic macrophytes and pond surface area were good predictors for the presence of these and other amphibian species. Surprisingly, invasive species played a relatively small role in predicting pond occupancy by the native species. These findings can inform conservation and restoration efforts for California Red-legged Frogs, which apparently persist best in small vegetated ponds in areas of low human disturbance. Public Library of Science 2019-03-07 /pmc/articles/PMC6405065/ /pubmed/30845170 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213426 Text en © 2019 Rachel B. Anderson http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Anderson, Rachel B.
Human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian
title Human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian
title_full Human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian
title_fullStr Human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian
title_full_unstemmed Human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian
title_short Human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian
title_sort human traffic and habitat complexity are strong predictors for the distribution of a declining amphibian
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6405065/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30845170
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213426
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