title: Habitat associations of the endangered gold-spotted pond frog (Rana chosenica).
abstract: We used field surveys and statistical models to investigate habitat associations of the endangered gold-spotted pond frog (Rana chosenica). The characteristics of its habitat are of great importance for effective conservation for this declining species in western South Korea. We evaluated a priori models that incorporated biotic and abiotic variables at the pond and landscape scales. The best-ranked model predicts that gold-spotted pond frogs will be more abundant at sites with fewer introduced American bullfrogs (Rana [= Lithobates] catesbeianus) and greater coverage of shallow, vegetated water. Our study leads us to conclude that limiting the spread and abundance of bullfrogs has the potential to aid conservation of the gold-spotted pond frog in our region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Kangwon National University, Kangwon 200-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Nam-Yong
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Ra
authors.forename: Daesik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seokwan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheong
authors.forename: Nam-Sin
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ha-Cheol
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Sung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics; D056910:Republic of Korea