Survival estimates for the invasive American bullfrog

Amphibia-Reptilia
By: , and 

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Abstract

American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) are significant invaders in many places and can negatively impact native species. Despite their impact and wide distribution, little is known about their demography. We used five years of capture mark-recapture data to estimate annual apparent survival of post-metamorphic bullfrogs in a population on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in their invaded range in Arizona, U.S.A. This population is a potential source of colonists into breeding ponds used by the federally threatened Chiricahua leopard frog (L. chiricahuensis). Results from robust-design Cormack-Jolly-Seber models suggested that survival of bullfrogs was influenced by sex and precipitation but not body condition. Survival was higher for females (mean = 0.37; 95% CI=0.15, 0.72) than males (mean = 0.17; 95% CI=0.02, 0.49), and declined with reduced annual precipitation (mean = −0.36, 95% CI = −2.09, 0.84). These survival estimates can be incorporated into models of population dynamics and to help predict spread of bullfrogs.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Survival estimates for the invasive American bullfrog
Series title Amphibia-Reptilia
DOI 10.1163/15685381-bja10016
Volume 41
Issue 4
Year Published 2020
Language English
Publisher Brill
Contributing office(s) Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center
Description 6 p.
First page 559
Last page 564
Country United States
State Arizona
Other Geospatial Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
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