Abstract
In Japan, the density of Japanese tree frogs (Hyla japonica) may not be necessary high in traditional rice fields compared to modern fields because the modernization of drainage systems from shallow earthen ditches to deep concrete-line ones reduces the abundance of predators/competitors for tadpoles, such as dojo loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus). This hypothesis was tested using two approaches. First, laboratory experiments revealed that the presence of the loach significantly reduced the survival of tree frog eggs and tadpoles. Second, observational studies in rice fields showed that the direct effect of modernization on tadpoles was not significant but the indirect (and thus total) effects were weakly positive due to the reduction in the density of dojo loach. Our study suggests that recent agricultural intensification in rice fields does not negatively impact all aquatic species but that some species may not be affected or can even flourish by having tolerance for the changes and release from potential predators or competitors.
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21 October 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-021-09916-8
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Acknowledgments
We thank N. Watanabe and all of the farmers who permitted surveys in the study area. We also thank K. Ito, S. Takeda, S. Tsuchikane, A. Maruyama, M. Watanabe, and M. Gunji for help with our fieldwork and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. We are grateful to H. Higuchi and S. Yamamoto for supporting equipment in this research program. This study was supported financially by the Global Center of Excellence for the Asian Conservation Ecology program; the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan; and a Grant-in-Aid for Fellows of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (22-4246) to N.K. The experiments conducted in this study comply with the current laws of Japan.
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Katayama, N., Goto, T., Narushima, F. et al. Indirect positive effects of agricultural modernization on the abundance of Japanese tree frog tadpoles in rice fields through the release from predators. Aquat Ecol 47, 225–234 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-013-9437-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-013-9437-0