Spatial scales for the management of amphibian populations

Abstract

Conservation programs must be based on a detailed knowledge of the distribution of communities and populations, but this changes with the spatial scale of observation. In this context, we examined the multiscale patterns of spatial variation of a montane amphibian assemblage in Central Spain. The largest spatial scale examined (in a range of 1200 m) accounted for the maximum variability in both species richness and larval abundance, while the smallest scale examined (pond) was responsible for the maximum variation of larval abundances of many individual species. Habitat characteristics seemed to be more related to spatial variation of the amphibian assemblage at a particular spatial scale (in a range of 75 m), and distances among ponds were in part responsible for variation of larval abundance, but not species richness.