Movement Patterns of Adult Green and Golden Bell Frogs Litoria aurea and the Implications for Conservation Management

Conservation of pond-breeding frogs requires information on movement patterns within populations. The Green and Golden Bell Frog (Litoria aurea) is endangered in New South Wales, Australia; yet little is known about its movement biology. To inform conservation planning and habitat restoration, we conducted a mark-recapture study to describe the movement patterns of adult L. aurea among permanent and ephemeral waterbodies, on Kooragang Island, New South Wales, Australia. Twenty-nine percent and 18% of 551 males and 228 females marked, respectively, were recaptured on >= 1 occasions over two breeding seasons (2000 and 2001). Most recaptures were in the same permanent waterbody as the original capture (53% males, 65% females). Twenty-seven (24%) male and seven (50%) female movements were from a permanent waterbody to the nearest permanent waterbody (< 50 m), respectively. Male L. aurea, usually large individuals, moved relatively long distances (> 200 m) to ephemeral waterbodies from permanent waterbodies after prolonged heavy rain. Of the total number of male and female movements recorded, 44 (39%) and two (14%) were to or from ephemeral waterbodies, respectively. Our results demonstrated high site fidelity of L. aurea to individual waterbodies and groups of neighboring waterbodies, especially permanent ones. Our results showed that L. aurea tended to breed in more permanent waterbodies but reproduced opportunistically in ephemeral waterbodies where recruitment was less successful. Habitat restoration projects for L. aurea should construct permanent and ephemeral waterbodies and provide adequate buffer zones that protect the terrestrial habitat.