Spawning site selection and segregation at the landscape, habitat and microhabitat scales for five syntopic Asian amphibians

Abstract Species diversity, abundance and distribution relate to habitat preferences at multiple geographic ecological scales. In this study, we aimed understand the breeding ecology of five sympatric amphibians in Republic Korea – four anurans ( Bufo sachalinensis , Rana uenoi coreana huanrenensis ) one caudata Hynobius sp.) by characterising their spawning determine whether site preference was influenced species co-occurrence. We surveyed 120 water bodies focusing on egg clutches define environmental properties associated with each taxa (water quality, depth, vegetation cover, topography landscape), measured distance between bank (microhabitat). Habitats were partitioned among along a gradient based depth. While used for did not depend communities, oviposition sites R. varied respect co-occurrence presence putative predator sp. This suggests plastic response anurans’ reproductive behaviour potentially triggered competitive interactions, therefore subtle differences microhabitats are significant yet overlooked drivers selection.