Calling Sites In The Tink Frog Diasporus vocator At Las Cruces Biological Station And Wilson Botanical Garden, Costa Rica

Determining the spatial distribution and breeding site requirements of an organism is essential to understand the factors that affect their population size and growth. Diasporus vocator (Anura: Eleutherodactylidae) are found in moist lowland and premontane forests of Costa Rica and Panama. Very little is known about the reproductive biology of D. vocator. In this study, abundance and spatial location of calling males was monitored in bromeliads at Las Cruces Biological Station and Wilson Botanical Garden, Costa Rica, and the characteristics of garden patches and individual bromeliads used as calling sites by males were measured. Fifty four garden patches containing bromeliads were surveyed nightly for approximately three weeks. Of those, thirteen patches were occupied by calling males. Over the course of the study, the number of calling males within a given patch remained consistent, and individual males occupied no more than three different plants as calling sites. Understanding the space and breeding site requirements of a species is essential for the development of effective conservation strategies.