Seasonal abundance in the floor-dwelling frog fauna on Iriomote Island of the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

Abstract

Abundance of floor-dwelling frogs was studied in the humid subtropical lowland forest of Iriomote Island, the Ryukyu Archipelago, southern Japan. Field survey was conducted monthly for 1 y, and the seasonal pattern of abundance was examined for each species. We observed 251 frogs belonging to four species of three families in a total sampling of 600 m². Of these species, Microhyla ornata (66.5% of total frogs) and Fejervarya limnocharis (30.3%) were dominant in number. Total abundance of the frogs was strongly seasonal and peaked in the hottest month, August, while the number of frog species was one to three throughout the year. The seasonal pattern of abundance showed considerable variation among species, most likely due to their differences in reproductive season, and in physiological characteristics under the influence of varying temperature and rainfall. These patterns are more similar to those of temperate species than those of tropical species. The estimated density of all frogs ranged from 0.08 to 1.60 individuals m⁻¹, and their average annual density and biomass were 4180 individuals ha⁻¹ and 11460 g ha⁻¹, respectively. These values, among the highest so far reported for floor-dwelling anurans, may be a feature of amphibian fauna in the humid subtropical forests on a small island.