Pseudophryne corroboree Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pseudophryne corroboree - Assignment Example A species recovery program was implemented to identify the processes that threaten species and formulate a definite strategy to properly address such threatening process and execute recovery actions. In March 1997, three P. corroboree populations were chosen for population augmentation: Dargal Range (Site A) population with 32 calling males, Jugumba Range (Site B) population with 13 calling males, and Round Mountain Range (Site C) population with 2 calling males. These sites were inspected after the breeding season to collect clutches for captive rearing at the Amphibian Research Center (ARC) in Melbourne. Sixteen nest out of 25 male nests in the three sites contained eggs. From the 16 nests, 374 eggs were gathered for captive rearing while 324 left in their respective nests for filed comparison. The highest level of mortality in the three field sites was observed during the over-winter stage, with total mortality in site B. For the captive-reared tadpoles, the highest rate of mortality was observed in the post-winter tadpole stage. The percentage of captive-reared animals survived was higher than the percentage survived at Site B, while there was no significant difference between the rate of survival for Site A and captive-rearing. Thirty-eight percent of the eggs collected from Site A survived through to metamorphosis as compared to 31% survival in the field (Hunter, Osborne, Marantelli, and Green 161). Fifty-three percent of the captive-reared animals survived through to metamorphosis, while Site B has no survivorship. Seventy percent of the captive-reared that was collected from S ite C has survived through to metamorphosis and only 13% of eggs left in the field survived (Hunter, Osborne, Marantelli, and Green 162). During the post-winter stage, the field tadpoles had higher rate of survival than the captive-reared animals, in which early release tadpoles exhibited higher survival rate than the