Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e39590. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039590. Epub 2012 Jun 27.
A major cause of amphibian declines worldwide is habitat destruction or alteration. Public green spaces, such as golf courses and parks, could serve as safe havens to curb the effects of habitat loss if managed in ways to bolster local amphibian communities. We reared larval Blanchard's cricket frogs (Acris blanchardi) and green frogs (Rana clamitans) in golf course ponds with and without 1 m terrestrial buffer zones, and released marked cricket frog metamorphs at the golf course ponds they were reared in. Larval survival of both species was affected by the presence of a buffer zone, with increased survival for cricket frogs and decreased survival for green frogs when reared in ponds with buffer zones. No marked cricket frog juveniles were recovered at any golf course pond in the following year, suggesting that most animals died or migrated. In a separate study, we released cricket frogs in a terrestrial pen and allowed them to choose between mown and unmown grass. Cricket frogs had a greater probability of using unmown versus mown grass. Our results suggest that incorporating buffer zones around ponds can offer suitable habitat for some amphibian species and can improve the quality of the aquatic environment for some sensitive local amphibians.
全球范围内，造成两栖动物数量减少的一个主要原因是栖息地的破坏或改变。如果能以增强当地两栖动物群落的方式进行管理，公共绿地（如高尔夫球场和公园）可以作为安全的避风港，以遏制栖息地丧失的影响。我们在有和没有 1 米陆地缓冲区的高尔夫球场池塘中饲养了幼年的斑氏蟋蟀蛙（Acris blanchardi）和绿蛙（Rana clamitans），并将标记的蟋蟀蛙变态体释放到它们被饲养的高尔夫球场池塘中。两种蛙类的幼体存活率都受到缓冲区存在的影响，当在有缓冲区的池塘中饲养时，蟋蟀蛙的存活率增加，而绿蛙的存活率降低。在接下来的一年里，在任何一个高尔夫球场池塘中都没有发现有标记的蟋蟀蛙幼体，这表明大多数动物死亡或迁徙。在另一项研究中，我们在一个陆地围栏中释放了蟋蟀蛙，并允许它们在修剪过的和未修剪过的草地之间做出选择。蟋蟀蛙更有可能选择未修剪的草地而不是修剪过的草地。我们的研究结果表明，在池塘周围设置缓冲区可以为一些两栖动物提供适宜的栖息地，并可以改善一些敏感的本地两栖动物的水生环境质量。
