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The effect of fish and aquatic habitat complexity on amphibians

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Abstract

Fish introductions are considered one of the most widespread anthropogenic threats to aquatic ecosystems. Their negative impact on native amphibian communities has received increasing attention in recent years. We investigated the relationship between the introduced fish, emergent vegetation cover and native amphibians in man-made ponds generated by regulation and dam building along the Târnava Mare Valley (Romania) during the last 40 years. We inventoried amphibians and fish inhabiting 85 permanent ponds and estimated habitat complexity focusing on emergent vegetation cover. Four amphibian species were found to be negatively associated with the presence of predatory fish. Species richness of ponds without fish and ponds without predatory fish did not differ significantly, whereas ponds containing only predatory fish had significantly lower amphibian richness. A significant positive relationship was found between the emergent vegetation cover and pond occupancy of six amphibian species and amphibian species richness. As a management recommendation, we suggest the restriction of fish introductions to non predatory fish and the maintenance of high emergent vegetation cover in the ponds.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Larissa Bailey, Geoffrey Smith, Anssi Laurilä, Günter Gollmann, Marcos Vaira, Mathieu Denoël and Nicholas Meade for the useful suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript. Martha Cowell improved the English. This research was financially supported by a Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force grant, the Mihai Eminescu Trust and the Swedish Biodiversity Centre.

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  1. Tibor Hartel

    Present address: Mircea Eliade College, str. 1 Decembrie 1918, nr. 31, Sighişoara, 545400, Romania

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology—Romanian Academy, Splaiul Independenţei 296, Bucharest, 060031, Romania

    Tibor Hartel & Kinga Öllerer

  2. School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, 41296, Sweden

    Szilárd Nemes

  3. Faculty of Natural Sciences, University Ovidius Constanta, blv. Mamaia 124, Constanta, Romania

    Dan Cogălniceanu

  4. Department of Community Ecology, UFZ—Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser Strasse 4, Halle, 06120, Germany

    Oliver Schweiger

  5. Biology-Geology Faculty, Babeş-Bolyai University, Str. Clinicilor 5–7, Cluj-Napoca, 400006, Romania

    Cosmin-Ioan Moga

  6. Department of Technical and Nature Sciences, Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Pţa. Libertăţii 1, Miercurea-Ciuc, 530104, Romania

    László Demeter

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  1. Tibor Hartel
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Correspondence to Tibor Hartel.

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Hartel, T., Nemes, S., Cogălniceanu, D. et al. The effect of fish and aquatic habitat complexity on amphibians. Hydrobiologia 583, 173–182 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0490-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0490-8

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