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1 March 2006 Post-Breeding Dispersal and Summer Home Range of Female American Toads (Bufo americanus)
Don C. Forester, Joel W. Snodgrass, Katherine Marsalek, Zachary Lanham
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Abstract

While many amphibians have complex life cycles involving a primarily terrestrial adult phase and an aquatic larval phase, use of terrestrial habits by adult forms remains poorly understood. We used radiotelemetry to track the post-breeding dispersals of 16 female Bufo americanus during the summer and fall of 2001 to determine the extent of upland habitat use by females of this species. Female toads dispersed a minimum of 250 m and up to 1000 m from the breeding pond with the majority (97%) of relocations occurring more than 400 m from the breeding site. Typically dispersal paths were non-random and linear, punctuated by periods of sedentary behavior. During periods of sedentary behavior females confined their activities to an area of several m2. Females employed 24-h movements of up to several hundred m when moving between activity centers. For 8 toads with > 22 recaptures, total area of upland habitat utilization ranged from 434 to 1305 m2 (mean = 717.7 m2). All 16 toads were lost prior to entering winter torpor, including 10 confirmed cases of predation. Our study of post-breeding dispersal by female American Toads suggests terrestrial habitat use extending up to 1 km from the breeding site is common, and emphasizes the need for consideration of terrestrial as well as aquatic habitats in the development of conservation plans.

Don C. Forester, Joel W. Snodgrass, Katherine Marsalek, and Zachary Lanham "Post-Breeding Dispersal and Summer Home Range of Female American Toads (Bufo americanus)," Northeastern Naturalist 13(1), 59-72, (1 March 2006). https://doi.org/10.1656/1092-6194(2006)13[59:PDASHR]2.0.CO;2
Published: 1 March 2006
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