Preliminary Survey and Partial List of Vertebrates in Meng Huan Lake, Yang Ming Shan National Park, Taiwan

Abstract

Meng Huan Lake, a unique ecological area in Yang Ming Shan National Park, Taiwan, is an acid sphagnum bog with a closed basin recharged primarily by rainfall. It is the only known habitat of an endemic aquatic plant, Taiwan isoetes (Isoetes taiwanensis), and as such its vegetation has been intensively studied. During 2005 and 2006, we conducted field and literature surveys of vertebrate animals in Meng Huan Lake to assess its importance as a habitat for animal species. We observed 14 species of vertebrates in the vicinity of the lake, the most abundant of which were Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonica), bamboo partridge (Bambusicola thoracica), Formosan blue magpie (Urocissa caerulea), Taipei green tree frog (Rhacophorus taipeianus), white-lipped tree frog (Polypedates megacephalus), and olive frog (Rana adenopleura).