Breeding Migrations in Crawfish Frogs (Lithobates areolatus): Long-Distance Movements, Burrow Philopatry, and Mortality in a Near-Threatened Species

Heemeyer, Jennifer L.; Lannoo, Michael J.

doi:10.1643/ce-11-107

Cited by 19 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Laser‐triggered, digital photography is a promising, non‐destructive, non‐invasive method that has been recently used to study animal presence/absence and activity patterns in aquatic systems (e.g. crawfish frogs: Heemeyer & Lannoo, 2012; Heemeyer et al., 2012; Stiles et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motion‐triggered laser photography reveals fine‐scale activity patterns for burrowing crayfish

2021

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Burrowing crayfish represent 15% of total crayfish species and 32% of imperilled species. Few life history studies exist for these species and more information is needed regarding their ecology, population status, distribution, and biogeography for effective conservation efforts. Challenges to gaining such information include sampling difficulty and small sample sizes. Collection efforts may be more efficient if activity patterns can be identified for species of interest. The goal of our study was to assess specific environmental indicators of burrowing crayfish activity patterns. We evaluated activity patterns of two primary burrowing crayfish species, Lacunicambarus erythrodactylus (Simon & Morris, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 127, 2014, 572) and Procambarus holifieldi (Schuster, Taylor, & Adams, Zootaxa, 4021, 2015, 1) using laser‐triggered digital photography for one‐year periods in the Bogue Chitto Creek floodplain, Dallas County, Alabama, U.S.A. We predicted that activity would be related to time of day, season, groundwater depth, and precipitation. Activity by L. erythrodactylus covaried significantly with time of day, daylength, groundwater temperature, and relative air temperature, while activity by P. holifieldi covaried with time of day, season, groundwater temperature, and relative air temperature. Additionally, burrow chimney construction by P. holifieldi covaried with daylength, groundwater temperature, relative air temperature, and precipitation. Out‐of‐burrow activity for both species was greatest at night and during periods of relatively cool groundwater temperatures and relatively warm air temperatures, which may be linked to thermal regulation behaviour. The probability of chimney construction by P. holifieldi increased with increasing daylength and decreasing precipitation and was highest during periods of cool groundwater temperatures and air temperatures. A distinct lull in activity from October through March for both species was likely to be the result of reproductive behaviours such as period of egg production and incubation within burrows. Identifying peak out‐of‐burrow activity periods for burrowing crayfish will allow collection efforts to be focused on periods of greatest activity, thereby facilitating the study of burrowing crayfish behaviour.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motion‐triggered laser photography reveals fine‐scale activity patterns for burrowing crayfish

2021

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“…In the case of amphibians, we are, however, only aware of studies that deployed radio-transmitters, rather than bio-logging instruments in the strict sense. Radio-transmitters have been attached by fitting harnesses (Goldberg et al 2002), by suturing them to the skin (Okada et al 2006) and via intraperitoneal implantation (Long et al 2010;Heemeyer & Lannoo 2012;Yaw et al 2017). The latter has been achieved in smaller-bodied anuran species with a semi-aquatic life style, such as wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) (Long et al 2010), and in northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens) (Yaw et al 2017) and crawfish frogs (Lithobates areolatus) (Heemeyer & Lannoo 2012), and has generally been well-tolerated.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Radio-transmitters have been attached by fitting harnesses (Goldberg et al 2002), by suturing them to the skin (Okada et al 2006) and via intraperitoneal implantation (Long et al 2010;Heemeyer & Lannoo 2012;Yaw et al 2017). The latter has been achieved in smaller-bodied anuran species with a semi-aquatic life style, such as wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) (Long et al 2010), and in northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens) (Yaw et al 2017) and crawfish frogs (Lithobates areolatus) (Heemeyer & Lannoo 2012), and has generally been well-tolerated. Radio-transmitter implantation allowed researchers to track animals over extended periods (>600 days) and to document some substantial migration distances (Heemeyer & Lannoo 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why implantation of bio‐loggers may improve our understanding of how animals cope within their natural environment

Forin-Wiart

Enstipp

Maho

et al. 2019

Integrative Zoology

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Bio‐loggers are miniaturized autonomous devices that record quantitative data on the state of free‐ranging animals (e.g. behavior, position and physiology) and their natural environment. This is especially relevant for species where direct visual observation is difficult or impossible. Today, ongoing technical development allows the monitoring of numerous parameters in an increasing range of species over extended periods. However, the external attachment of devices might affect various aspects of animal performance (energetics, thermoregulation, foraging as well as social and reproductive behavior), which ultimately affect fitness. External attachment might also increase entanglement risk and the conspicuousness of animals, leaving them more vulnerable to predation. By contrast, implantation of devices can mitigate many of these undesirable effects and might be preferable, especially for long‐term studies, provided that the many challenges associated with surgical procedures can be mastered. Implantation may then allow us to gather data that would be impossible to obtain otherwise and thereby may provide new and ecologically relevant insights into the life of wild animals. Here, we: (i) discuss the pros and cons of attachment methods; (ii) highlight recent field studies that used implanted bio‐loggers to address eco‐physiological questions in a wide range of species; and (iii) discuss logger implantation in light of ethical considerations.

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“…The IUCN (Hammerson & Parris, 2004) has listed L. areolatus as near threatened; the species is listed as state endangered in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, and is a species of the greatest conservation need in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Lithobates areolatus is an explosive breeder, with a breeding season that typically lasts 1-4 weeks (Heemeyer & Lannoo, 2012). Adults spend the non-breeding season in terrestrial burrows relatively far from breeding wetlands, thus the density of adults in the terrestrial landscape is presumably low and populations are thought to be regulated primarily through density dependence at the larval state, as well as by stochastic environmental drivers (Stiles et al, 2016(Stiles et al, , 2020.…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land‐use alters the form of larval density dependence to increase extinction risk in a grassland amphibian

Kross

Willson

2022

Animal Conservation

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An understanding of interactions between anthropogenic stressors and intrinsic population drivers is needed to fully understand wildlife population declines. Density dependence is a key aspect of population regulation for many species, especially for species that have high reproductive potential, such as amphibians. However, patterns of density dependence have been characterized for only a few species and little work has evaluated how density‐dependent interactions may be altered by anthropogenic stressors. We combined the results of a mesocosm experiment with demographic population modeling to investigate how the conversion of native prairie to agricultural grasslands dominated by Tall Fescue grass (Lolium arundinacea) affected larval density dependence and adult population size of an imperiled amphibian, Lithobates areolatus (Crawfish Frog). Overall, density dependence was overcompensatory, suggesting that L. areolatus exhibits scramble competition as larvae. Both vegetation treatments had low survival at high densities, but more individuals survived to metamorphosis at moderate densities in Fescue treatments compared to Prairie treatments. We evaluated the implications of our experimental results using a stochastic density‐dependent matrix population model to project long‐term population dynamics. Simulated populations breeding in Fescue‐dominated wetlands had a more variable population size and up to 400% higher probability of quasi‐extinction within 200 years, compared to populations breeding in ponds with prairie vegetation. Without varying density in experimental treatments and using mathematical models to project emergent population dynamics, our mesocosm experiment results would have suggested a slightly positive effect of Fescue grass on amphibian development and survival. Vegetation changes surrounding breeding wetlands might play an important role in the decline of amphibian populations persisting in low‐intensity agricultural areas.

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Breeding Migrations in Crawfish Frogs (Lithobates areolatus): Long-Distance Movements, Burrow Philopatry, and Mortality in a Near-Threatened Species

Cited by 19 publications

References 30 publications

Motion‐triggered laser photography reveals fine‐scale activity patterns for burrowing crayfish

Motion‐triggered laser photography reveals fine‐scale activity patterns for burrowing crayfish

Why implantation of bio‐loggers may improve our understanding of how animals cope within their natural environment

Land‐use alters the form of larval density dependence to increase extinction risk in a grassland amphibian

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