Clutch sizes and nests of tailed frogs from the Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Abstract

In the summers 1995-1998, we sampled 168 streams (1,714 m of randomly selected 1-m bands) to determine distribution and abundance of stream amphibians in Olympic National Park, Washington. We found six nests (two in one stream) of the tailed frog, compared to only two nests with clutch sizes reported earlier for coastal regions. This represents only one nest per 286 m searched and one nest per 34 streams sampled. Tailed frogs occurred only in 94 (60%) of streams and, for these waters, we found one nest per 171 m searched or one nest per 20 streams sampled. The numbers of eggs for four masses (x = 48.3, range 40-55) were low but one single strand in a fifth nest had 96 eggs. One nest with 185 eggs likely represented communal egg deposition. Current evidence indicates a geographic trend with yearly clutches of relatively few eggs in coastal tailed frogs compared to biennial nesting with larger clutches for inland populations in the Rocky MountainsBury et al "Clutch sizes and nests of tailed frogs from the Olympic Peninsula, Washington." Northwest Science. 2001; 75(4): 419-42