Searching for answers to the silent decline: first estimates of survival and recruitment for the critically endangered Rose's mountain toadlet, Capensibufo rosei

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dc.contributor.advisorTolley, Krystal Aen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorAltwegg, Resen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBecker, Francois Stephanusen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-05-04T07:13:49Z
dc.date.available2015-05-04T07:13:49Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractCapensibufo rosei, a critically endangered bufonid found only within Table Mountain National Park, has shown a silent decline over recent decades, despite being found within a protected area with apparently pristine habitat. I estimated the first survival and recruitment rates for the species, using Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) methods, over a 7-year period, in order to identify demographic trends over time. I also used covariate models to test whether any observed trends in these demographic parameters were significantly related to variation in rainfall or drought-stress. I found some evidence for an extreme rainfall-induced life-history plasticity, with both survival and recruitment rates covarying closely with rainfall parameters. Although recruitment rate showed a positive relationship with rainfall, the relationship between survival rate and rainfall, specifically during the start of breeding, was negative, with breeding season rainfall explaining 94% of the variability in survival rate over time. I also found evidence to suggest that higher adult survival during poorer breeding rainfall years may be a natural population buffering mechanism to a highly variable microclimate, and that variable rainfall during the start of the breeding season may elicit a variable response in breeding investment by adults. Finally, I found evidence to suggest that the population is small, range-restricted and highly unstable, and that disturbances at the breeding site during good breeding years may cause the population to crash.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBecker, F. S. (2014). <i>Searching for answers to the silent decline: first estimates of survival and recruitment for the critically endangered Rose's mountain toadlet, Capensibufo rosei</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12721en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBecker, Francois Stephanus. <i>"Searching for answers to the silent decline: first estimates of survival and recruitment for the critically endangered Rose's mountain toadlet, Capensibufo rosei."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12721en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBecker, F. 2014. Searching for answers to the silent decline: first estimates of survival and recruitment for the critically endangered Rose's mountain toadlet, Capensibufo rosei. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Becker, Francois Stephanus AB - Capensibufo rosei, a critically endangered bufonid found only within Table Mountain National Park, has shown a silent decline over recent decades, despite being found within a protected area with apparently pristine habitat. I estimated the first survival and recruitment rates for the species, using Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) methods, over a 7-year period, in order to identify demographic trends over time. I also used covariate models to test whether any observed trends in these demographic parameters were significantly related to variation in rainfall or drought-stress. I found some evidence for an extreme rainfall-induced life-history plasticity, with both survival and recruitment rates covarying closely with rainfall parameters. Although recruitment rate showed a positive relationship with rainfall, the relationship between survival rate and rainfall, specifically during the start of breeding, was negative, with breeding season rainfall explaining 94% of the variability in survival rate over time. I also found evidence to suggest that higher adult survival during poorer breeding rainfall years may be a natural population buffering mechanism to a highly variable microclimate, and that variable rainfall during the start of the breeding season may elicit a variable response in breeding investment by adults. Finally, I found evidence to suggest that the population is small, range-restricted and highly unstable, and that disturbances at the breeding site during good breeding years may cause the population to crash. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - Searching for answers to the silent decline: first estimates of survival and recruitment for the critically endangered Rose's mountain toadlet, Capensibufo rosei TI - Searching for answers to the silent decline: first estimates of survival and recruitment for the critically endangered Rose's mountain toadlet, Capensibufo rosei UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12721 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/12721
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBecker FS. Searching for answers to the silent decline: first estimates of survival and recruitment for the critically endangered Rose's mountain toadlet, Capensibufo rosei. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12721en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.titleSearching for answers to the silent decline: first estimates of survival and recruitment for the critically endangered Rose's mountain toadlet, Capensibufo roseien_ZA
dc.typeBachelor Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelHonours
dc.type.qualificationnameBSc (Hons)en_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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