Vol. 43 No. 4, 2004
Density and Diversity of Litter Amphibians in a Monsoon Forest of Southern Taiwan
Ching-Yu Huang and Ping-Chun Lucy Hou*
Department of Biology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan 701
Ching-Yu Huang and Ping-Chun Lucy Hou (2004)
In this study, we examined the density and diversity of litter
amphibians in a monsoon forest of southern Taiwan. We conducted
bimonthly surveys in 2001 in a wind-exposed and in a creek
(wind-shielded) site in Nanjenshan Nature Reserve using the quadrat (5
x 5 m in size) method. Our results showed that the mean density of
litter amphibians for the entire year at the creek site (10.24
individuals (ind.)/100 m2) was higher than that in the wind-exposed
site (3.5 ind./100 m2), and the compositions of litter amphibians at
the 2 sites also significantly differed. The creek site was dominated
by Rana latouchii and Microhyla heymonsi, while the population of the
wind-exposed site was mainly composed of Bufo bankorensis, R.
latouchii, and Chirixalus eiffingeri. Juvenile frogs constituted 52%
and 46% of the litter amphibians in the creek and wind-exposed sites,
respectively. In conclusion, the distribution of litter amphibians is
highly heterogeneous in the monsoon forest.
Key words: Frog community, Nanjenshan, Subtropical rainforest.
*Correspondence: Tel: 886-6-2757575 ext. 65546. Fax: 886-6-2082391. E-mail: pchou@mail.ncku.edu.tw

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