Variation in anuran abundance along the streams of the Western Ghats, India

In order to test the hypothesis that anuran abundance does not vary between forest and commercial plantations, anurans were sampled along the streams of reserve forests, and adjoining cardamom and coffee plantations on the western slopes of the Western Ghats. The species composition and relative abundance varied significantly between the three habitats. A few species showed complete dependence on the forest whereas many common species were least affected by habitat alterations associated with plantations. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences in the abundance of R. temporalis, Micrixalus saxicolus, Fejervarya limnocharis, Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis and Bufo melanostictus, whereas the difference was not significant for Indirana beddomii, Nyctibatrachus species and Polypedates species.