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Ecology and Demography of the Critically Endangered Kandian Torrent Toad Adenomus Kandianus: a Long-Lost Endemic Species of Sri Lanka

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Ecology and Demography of the Critically Endangered Kandian Torrent Toad Adenomus Kandianus: a Long-Lost Endemic Species of Sri Lanka Ecology and demography of the Critically Endangered Kandian torrent toad Adenomus kandianus: a long-lost endemic species of Sri Lanka S URANJAN K ARUNARATHNA,SUJAN H ENKANATHTHEGEDARA,DINESH G ABADAGE M ADHAVA B OTEJUE,MAJINTHA M ADAWALA and T HILINA D. SURASINGHE Abstract The tropical island nation of Sri Lanka is a bio- Keywords Adenomus kandianus, Amphibia, Bufonidae, diversity hotspot with a high diversity and endemism of am- conservation, Critically Endangered, montane streams, phibians. The endemic, stream-dwelling Kandian torrent Sri Lanka, tropical rainforests toad Adenomus kandianus is Critically Endangered and was considered to be extinct until its rediscovery in . The species is now known from two localities in tropical Introduction montane forests. We conducted a -year study using tran- sect surveys and opportunistic excursions to assess habitat he South Asian tropical island of Sri Lanka is rich in associations, demographics and abundance of A. kandianus Tamphibian diversity (Meegaskumbura et al., ). in and around Pidurutalagala Conservation Forest. We re- Of the country’s described amphibian species corded a mean of . post-metamorphs per year, with a (c. %) are endemic and . % are restricted to rainforests density of , individual per m , with occurrence within (Surasinghe, ; Wickramasinghe et al., ). Sri Lanka’s a narrow extent (c. km ) of the stream channel. amphibians are threatened by deforestation, environmental Behaviour and microhabitat selection varied depending on pollution and road traffic (Pethiyagoda et al., ; sex and stage of maturity. The species preferred moderately Karunarathna et al., ). These anthropogenic stressors have sized montane streams with rocky substrates and woody contributed to the extinction of amphibian species, and de- debris, colder temperatures, and closed-canopy, intact ri- clining populations of nearly half of the extant species (MOE, parian forests. We noted size-based reversed sexual di- ). morphism and a strong ontogenetic relationship between The stream-dwelling toad genus Adenomus contains two snout–vent length and body weight. Anthropogenic activ- species, Kelaart’storrenttoadA. kelaartii and the Kandian ities such as intensive crop farming deterred the species; torrent toad A. kandianus (Meegaskumbura et al., a). The proximity to croplands had a negative influence on abun- latter was considered to be extinct for years (Stuart et al., dance. We recommend re-delineation of the boundary of ) until its rediscovery at Peak Wilderness Sanctuary in Pidurutalagala Conservation Forest to incorporate the (Wickramasinghe et al., ). Currently, this species is toad’s habitat into the core of the reserve and thus limit known from only two localities in the Central Highlands the impacts of human activities. Conservation and manage- (. , m; Gabadage et al., ) and it is categorized as ment actions such as ex-situ breeding, population monitor- Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List (IUCN SSC ing, and restoration of degraded habitats could also Amphibian Specialist Group, ). The species’ molecular contribute towards the persistence of this toad. Our findings phylogeny,bioacoustics,osteology,andlarvalandadultmorph- provide useful insights into ecological research on and con- ology have been studied (Meegaskumbura et al., a,b). servation of range-restricted aquatic amphibians. In the literature on A. kandianus, details about the spe- cies’ natural history, habitat associations, behaviour and population status are limited. This paucity of ecological in- formation impedes conservation action. We therefore stud- SURANJAN KARUNARATHNA Nature Explorations & Education Team, Soysapura Flats, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka ied the population abundance, behaviour, body size variation with sex and sexual maturity, and microhabitat as- SUJAN HENKANATHTHEGEDARA Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Longwood University, Virginia, USA sociations and environmental correlations of A. kandianus. DINESH GABADAGE and MADHAVA BOTEJUE Biodiversity Conservation Society, Our findings will help inform future conservation action for Nugegoda, Sri Lanka this Critically Endangered species and provide a foundation MAJINTHA MADAWALA No. 18 Ratmal Mawatha, Sirimal Uyana, Ratmalana, for future research. Sri Lanka THILINA D. SURASINGHE (Corresponding author) Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA 02325, USA Study area E-mail [email protected] Received February . Revision requested May . The study area is located partly in the buffer zone of Accepted May . First published online October . Pidurutalagala (Mount Pedro) Conservation Forest in Oryx, 2017, 51(4), 619–626 © 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316000594 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.35.76, on 26 Sep 2021 at 16:33:49, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316000594 620 S. Karunarathna et al. cascades using hand ( × cm) and seine nets ( × m). For each individual found we recorded sex (based on the presence or absence of nuptial pads and gular sacs), snout–vent length (using a digital vernier caliper), stage of maturity (based on snout–vent length: juvenile # mm, adult $ mm), and blotted wet weight (using a Taylor spring scale). Measuring blotted wet weight eliminates excess water on skin surface. All captured individuals were released to the wild without harm at the point of capture. Environmental variables Where toads were found we recorded the following environmental variables: stream width, canopy cover (using a canopy densiometer), water and air temperature (using a standard mercury thermometer), relative humidity and light intensity (using a Digitech QM -in- multifunction environment meter), and pH (using aDigitech QM– pH meter). Wemeasured the length of boulders at the intermediate axis, and the FIG. 1 The location of the study site in Pidurutalagala above-water height of emergent boulders, pool depth, and Conservation Forest in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. the Euclidean distance from each toad to the nearest cultivated land. We obtained rainfall data from the nearest weather station (National Meteorological Department, Sri Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands (Fig. ), one of the two local- Lanka). Additionally, we observed the surrounding habitat ities from where A. kandianus is known (Gabadage et al., and recorded any evidence of anthropogenic disturbance. ). Although the forest is under governmental jurisdic- tion, its buffer zone is imperilled by a multitude of an- thropogenic disturbances, the most detrimental being Behavioural observations We noted the behaviour of each clear-cutting (Plate ). It is one of the largest montane pro- toad at the time of observation, as well their microhabitat tected areas in Sri Lanka (,. ha) and is also a UNESCO and substrate use. World Heritage Site (UNESCO, ). The mean annual precipitation is . , mm, and mean annual temperature Statistical analysis To test for differences in relative is °C (Gabadage et al., ). abundance among age–sex categories (male, female, juveniles) we ran a one-way ANCOVA (analysis of Methods covariance) in which abundance was considered to be the response variable, the age–sex category was the treatment, Survey design We conducted -week-long field excursions and rainfall and sampling dates were covariates. Pairwise annually during – and twice in . Surveys were differences in abundance of age–sex groups were tested conducted in the morning (.–.) and evening using a Tukey HSD (honest significant difference) test. To (.–.) to account for both diurnal and nocturnal test for differences in body size among age–sex categories activities. Across the entire survey period we surveyed we used one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) in which both during (April, May, August) and outside (October, the age–sex category was considered to be the treatment December) the monsoon season. In addition to transect and snout–vent length and blotted wet weight were surveys we made opportunistic observations. Statistical response variables. A post-hoc Tukey test was performed analyses were based only on the transect surveys. We to discern pairwise differences among age–sex groups for placed × m belt transects along stream habitats, blotted wet weight and snout–vent length. We constructed which covered stream channels and adjacent woodlands, a linear regression model to test for a significant relationship with a minimum distance of m between neighbouring between the snout–vent length and blotted wet weight. We transects. The four-person survey team walked along the used a χ test of independence to detect any influence of sex transects, actively searching and visually scanning for on behavioural acts or habitat use. Based on a χ test for amphibians. Active searching included examining leaf goodness of fit, we tested if the behavioural acts and habitat litter, superficial roots and tree trunks, and understorey use were distributed evenly among individuals. To test for vegetation, lifting movable rocks and woody debris, and the importance of various environmental variables on the searching the stream channel (riffles and pools) and abundance of toads, we constructed a stepwise multiple Oryx, 2017, 51(4), 619–626 © 2016 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316000594 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.35.76, on 26 Sep 2021 at 16:33:49, subject to the Cambridge Core
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