Home range and seasonal movement of Nanorana vicina (Stoliczka, 1872) (Anura: Dicroglossidae) in Himalayan streams, India

Abstract

The spatial movement pattern is a poorly known aspect of amphibian ecology, especially in the Indian Himalayan region. Thus, we studied the home range and movement of Nanorana vicina,, an obligate stream frog endemic to the Western Himalayas. We radio-tagged 16 individuals and tracked their movement for an average of 63 days in two streams of Binog Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand. Our results showed that the highest mean movement of a tagged frog was 5.9 ± 3.26 meters (m) in 13 days during monsoon. Most of the movements (90 %) were restricted within the stream. Movement varied significantly across seasons, with the highest movement during the monsoon (2.71 ± 0.46 m) and the lowest during the post-monsoon (0.78 ± 0.14 m). The Dunn's Test revealed that post-monsoon movement was significantly lower than in both pre-monsoon and monsoon periods. The minimum convex polygon showed a range of 1.61 m2 to 43.16 m2 and 15.78 m2 to 684.99 m2 for 50% and 90% MCP, respectively. No significant difference was found in the weights of frogs before tagging and after removing tags (n = 10, p > 0.05). Himalayan streams are subjected to rapid anthropogenic and climate-induced changes. Less vagile and highly philopatric species, such as N. vicina, might be much more vulnerable to such changes. Thus, the study highlights the importance of the stream and the riparian zone for the conservation of this stream frog.