Breeding Ecology of Amolops himalayanus (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae) in Bodidrang Stream, Trashigang District, Bhutan

Abstract

The breeding activity of Himalayan sucker frog (Amolops himalayanus), was studied under natural conditions at Bodidrang stream, Kanglung, Trashigang, Bhutan, for 12 months. We examined the correlation between meteorological factors (relative humidity, temperature and rainfall) and sightings of adult, juvenile, and tadpole/larvae individuals as well as egg masses from monthly surveys using Pearson Correlation in statistical software (Python 3.6). A. himalayanus was an explosive breeder influenced by the high seasonality in Bhutan. Adult, juvenile, and larvae individuals recorded had a positive Pearson correlation with monthly mean rainfall. There was a strong correlation between rainfall and adult sightings (r=0.732), however tadpoles sightings had a low correlation (r=0.178). We observed moderate positive correlations of temperature and relative humidity with adult (r=0.536; r=0.442) and juvenile (r=0.398; r=0.252) individuals, while tadpoles had low positive correlation for relative humidity (r =0.048) respectively. Brief note of amplexus position of A. himalayanus is discussed.