Interspecific Variation in Seasonal Migration and Brumation Behavior in Two Closely Related Species of Treefrogs

Most amphibians migrate between flooded habitats for breeding and dry habitats for non-breeding activities, however, differences in closely related species may highlight divergent evolutionary histories. Through field surveys, Harmonic Direction Finder tracking and laboratory behavioral experiments during the wintering season, we demonstrated differences in seasonal migration and hibernation habitats between Dryophytes suweonensis and D. japonicus. We found that D. japonicus migrated toward forests for overwintering and then back to rice paddies for breeding in spring. By contrast, D. suweonensis was found to hibernate buried in the vicinity of rice paddies, its breeding habitat. We also found that the difference in migrating behavior matched with variation in microhabitat use during brumation and hibernation between the two species. Our findings highlight different ecological requirements between the two species, which may result from their segregated evolutionary histories, with speciation potentially linked to species use of a new breeding habitat. Additionally, the use of rice paddies for both breeding and hibernation may contribute to the endangered status of D. suweonensis because of the degradation of hibernation sites in winter

Population trend inferred from aural surveys for calling anurans in Korea

Amphibian populations fluctuate naturally in size and range and large datasets are required to establish trends in species dynamics. To determine population trends for the endangered Suweon Treefrog (Dryophytes suweonensis), we conducted aural surveys in 2015, 2016, and 2017 at each of 122 sites where the species was known to occur in the Republic of Korea. Despite being based on individual counts, the focus of this study was to establish population trends rather than population size estimates, and we found both environmental and landscape variables to be significant factors. Encroachment was also a key factor that influenced both the decreasing number of calling individuals and the negative population dynamics, represented here by the difference in the number of calling individuals between years. Generally, most sites displayed minimal differences in the number of calling males between years, although there was a large fluctuation in the number of individuals at some sites. Finally, when adjusted for the overall population size difference between years, we found the population size to be decreasing between 2015 and 2017, with a significant decrease in the number of calling individuals at specific sites. High rate of encroachment was the principal explanatory factor behind these marked negative peaks in population dynamics

Yellow sea mediated segregation between North East AsianDryophytesspecies

While comparatively few amphibian species have been described on the North East Asian mainland in the last decades, several species have been the subject of taxonomical debates in relation to the Yellow sea. Here, we sampledDryophytessp. treefrogs from the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China to clarify the status of this clade around the Yellow sea and determine the impact of sea level change on treefrogs' phylogenetic relationships. Based on genetics, call properties, adult morphology, tadpole morphology and niche modelling, we determined the segregated status species ofD.suweonensisandD.immaculatus. We then proceeded to describe a new treefrog species,D.flaviventrissp. nov., from the central lowlands of the Republic of Korea. The new species is geographically segregated fromD.suweonensisby the Chilgap mountain range and known to occur only in the area of Buyeo, Nonsan and Iksan in the Republic of Korea. While the Yellow sea is the principal element to the current isolation of the three clades, the paleorivers of the Yellow sea basin are likely to have been the major factor for the divergences within this clade. We recommend conducting rapid conservation assessments as these species are present on very narrow and declining ranges

왜 무미양서류는 멸종위기에 처해 있는가? 수원 청개구리의 사례를 통하여

학위논문 (박사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 자연과학대학 생명과학부, 2018. 2. Jablonski P..The sixth mass extinction is under way, and amphibians are leading the race. An unpredictably high number of amphibian species is under threats of extinction. Factors of population decline in amphibians include (1) habitat destruction, (2) agrochemical and chemical pollution, (3) UV-B radiation, (4) diseases, (5) introduced species, (6) exploitation, (7) climate change and (8) complex causes, being the combined effects of the factors above. For any given species, some factors are of major significance, while other may be considered negligible. The loss of habitat due to urban development and encroachment is a major threat to almost all endangered species. Since the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, humans have largely settled in lowlands, the primary breeding habitats for the majority of amphibian species. This trend continues nowadays, culminating in metropoles around the world. Encroachment also results in decreased connectivity between metapopulations, and is linked to the resulting genetic depression. Anthropogenic modification of landscapes also impacts the behaviour and ecology of species, leading to new competition dynamics. For instance, agricultural practices and the loss of natural habitat bring geographically isolated species in contact, potentially leading to introgressive extinction. Finally, the use of chemicals and their presence in the environment, and the introduction of invasive species are factors that can bring a last blow to already weak and destabilised species. My dissertation aims at assessing the status of the endangered Suweon Treefrog, Dryophytes suweonensis, to ultimately predict the species probability of survival. The species is present on a narrow range on west Korean lowlands, and completes its life cycle in rice paddies. It co-occurs with the widespread Japanese treefrog (D. japonicus), with which it interacts on a broad spectrum. The first step of this dissertation was to estimate the entire distribution of D. suweonensis in the Republic of Korea. With the data on its distribution and population size, I estimate the meta-population connectivity of the species, and the relationship between range size and fitness depression. I then assess competition, diet overlap and habitat segregation with D. japonicus. Because of the spatial arrangement and anthropogenically modified breeding strategy of the two treefrog species in rice paddies, I investigated hybridization between D. suweonensis and D. japonicus and the possibility of introgressive extinction in D. suweonensis. Besides, I investigated the phylogenetic relation between D. suweonensis and other closely related Hylid species in North East Asia to clarify recent evolutionary history. I then assessed the threats linked to the winter ecology of the species, and to chemical run-off resulting from agricultural practices. Finally, I assessed the potential for translocation and reintroduction of the species through a pilot study. I established long term population trends, before running a Population Viability Analysis to assess the probability of extinction for D. suweonensis. This research project is organised under five main parts: (I) demography, (II) behavioural ecology, (III) phylogenetics, and (IV) other factors of population decline and conservation assessment. This dissertation has two intrinsically connected principal aims. First, I determine the threatened status of D. suweonensis, in relation to habitat, ecology, competition and disease, and provide possible solutions for its conservation. The second aims is on a broader scale, intending to demonstrate the impact of landscape anthropisation on metapopulation connectivity, exemplify the need for long term surveys to estimate fluctuating population sizes, demonstrate the impact of range restriction on behavioural fitness, retrace evolutionary history through current behavioural patterns, demonstrate the risks of introgressive extinction, highlight the role of resurgence in the Yellow Sea for speciation events, and finally, demonstrate the relationship between healthy invasive carriers and emergent anuran pathogens. Each of the 14 chapters is linked to the endangered status of D. suweonensis, and all highlight a different type of threat that has the potential to accelerate the decline of the species, to the point that it could be extinct within a short period.PART I: DEMOGRAPHY 1 Chapter one: Range and threats 8 Chapter two: Population connectivity 25 Chapter three: Population trends 59 Appendix one: Range extension 87 Appendix two: Natural habitat 88 Appendix three: Case study - Seoul 100 PART II: BEHAVIOURAL ECOLOGY 115 Chapter four: Boldness and physiological traits 114 Chapter five: Microhabitat use 149 Chapter six: Competition 181 Chapter seven: Agro-environmental variables 211 Chapter eight: Hibernation and migration 252 Appendix four: Interference competition 303 Appendix five: Mating behaviour 314 Appendix six: Brumation 318 PART III: PHYLOGENETICS 351 Chapter nine: Hybridisation 352 Chapter ten: A ring of species 380 Appendix seven: Full mtDNA sequence 400 PART IV: OTHER FACTORS OF POPULATION DECLINE AND CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT 404 Chapter eleven: Water quality 405 Chapter twelve: Translocation 425 Chapter thirteen: Population viability analysis 449 General conclusion 463 초록 468 Bibliography 471 Appendix 565Docto