Postmetamorphic Growth and Movements in Yellow-Bellied Toads, Bombina variegata: Approaching Life-Path Analysis

G. Gollmann, B. Gollmann

Abstract


Since spring 1996 we study population ecology of yellow-bellied toads, Bombina variegata, in a near-natural environment, the nature reserve Lainzer Tiergarten at the western border of Vienna. Toadlets were individually registered by photographing their ventral pattern at or shortly after metamorphosis. Their lifetime movement patterns appear to be strongly influenced by the quality of terrestrial habitats surrounding the breeding sites. Toads emerging from puddles on a wet meadow were more sedentary than those from a pool on a forest clearing with bare loamy banks. Several toads born at the latter site returned as adults to their natal pool for short visits, although some of them also participated in breeding activities in other habitats.

Keywords


Amphibia; Anura; behavior; dispersal; ecology; life history; migration

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2005-12-0-143-145

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