Desiccation and Shelter-Site Use in a Tropical Amphibian: Comparing Toads with Physical Models

1. Shelter-site selection is a critical component of the behaviour of most mobile organisms, allowing them to avoid adverse physical and biotic environmental conditions. This paper examines the patterns of diurnal retreat-site use of tropical cane toads (Bufo marinus), with respect to the ability of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Functional ecology 1996-04, Vol.10 (2), p.193-200
Main Authors: Schwarzkopf, L., Alford, R. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibians
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Bufo marinus
Burrows
Dry seasons
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human ecology
Rain
Rainy seasons
Reptilia. Amphibia
Shelters
Toads
Vegetation
Vertebrata
Water loss
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Summary:1. Shelter-site selection is a critical component of the behaviour of most mobile organisms, allowing them to avoid adverse physical and biotic environmental conditions. This paper examines the patterns of diurnal retreat-site use of tropical cane toads (Bufo marinus), with respect to the ability of various shelter-site types to protect against desiccation. 2. To measure desiccation rates in different shelter-site types, agar models the size and shape of an adult toad were placed in sites used by toads and allowed to desiccate. Models were put in burrows, in tall grass either close to (
ISSN:0269-8463
1365-2435
DOI:10.2307/2389843