Abstract
From a study of riparian habitat structure and a quantitive distribution survey of bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, mink frog, Rana septentrionalis, and green frog, Rana clamitans melanota, in 31 oligotrophic lakes, we looked for, among 18 physiographic parameters, those that could best explain the spatial organisation of the ranid community. The three species cohabitated in 18 lakes, the mink frog and the green frog in 10 lakes without bullfrog, and the bullfrog alone in 3 lakes. These frogs preferentially occupied (i) habitats with medium or high density of emergent vegetation, (ii) areas with extensive floating aquatic vegetation, (iii) muddy and silty areas, and (iv) especially for the green frog, shrubby habitats with ericaceae. Substrates had a poor explicative value. In lakes devoid of bullfrogs, the mink frogs and green frogs were more frequently abundant and showed a more even distribution in the different habitats than when they were sympatric with bullfrogs. A Spearman's rank correlation analysis confirmed the similarity of habitat preferences between the three species and the poor capacity of the habitat structure to predict the ranid community composition.
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