Life history of amphibians in the seasonal tropics

Life history of amphibians in the seasonal tropics:
habitat, community and population ecology of a
caecilian (genus Ichthyophis)
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Alexander Kupfer11Institut für Zoologie, Technische Universität Darmstadt,
Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany22Department of Zoology,
The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K.,
Jarujin Nabhitabhata33National Science Museum, Research Division,
Technopolis, Rangsit-Nakorn Nayok Highway, Klong 5, Klong Luang,
Pathumthani 12120, Bangkok, Thailand
Werner Himstedt11Institut für Zoologie, Technische Universität Darmstadt,
Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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Institut für Zoologie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse
3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany2Department of Zoology, The Natural History
Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K.3National Science Museum,
Research Division, Technopolis, Rangsit-Nakorn Nayok Highway, Klong 5,
Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Bangkok, Thailand
All correspondence to: Alexander Kupfer, Department of Zoology, The Natural
History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract
Fundamental information on the ecology of the limbless tropical caecilians is needed
for a well-founded conservation assessment. Here, essential life-history characters are
presented for the oviparous caecilian Ichthyophis cf. kohtaoensis from a field site in
South-east Asia (Mekong valley, north-eastern Thailand). Ichthyophis cf. kohtaoensis
was found in a range of terrestrial macrohabitats including open scrubs, gallery forests
and open secondary dipterocarp forests. In the dry season, caecilians were found
mainly in soil but in the rainy season they were also detected in epigeic microhabitats
(leaf litter or rotten vegetation). Ichthyophis cf. kohtaoensis were recorded in low
densities (median 0.08 individuals/m2) and they share their habitat with a range of
other terrestrial amphibians and reptiles. The population structure of I. cf. kohtaoensis
varied seasonally. Records of late metamorphs were restricted to the cold dry season
and occasionally to the onset of the rainy season. Females with clutches were only
found in the rainy season. A life-history scenario of I. cf. kohtaoensis in north-eastern
Thailand was set up. Reproduction and larval development is related to the rainy
season. Mating and oviposition may start at the onset of the monsoon. Larvae hatch at
the peak until the end of the rainy season and metamorphose until the end of the dry
season. In the light of amphibian decline, this study may encourage further baseline
work on the ecology of other caecilian species.