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Specifically, we observed that non-eutrophic ponds characterized by permeable and shallow basins with smooth slopes, and without weirs, foster a higher amphibian diversity.

For this, we investigated the condition of 154 ponds across six European countries, considered through measurements of their conservation status (Shallow Lentic Ecosystem Conservation Status index, ECELS), water quality and trophic state, and physical characteristics.

In this study, we assessed if the favourable condition of a pond and its conservation status promotes its amphibian species richness, which was determined by using environmental DNA metabarcoding.

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The highest richness was observed in low-nutrient, fishless, intermediate-sized, shallow ponds, located in warmer regions with higher precipitation rates.

Our results suggest that local factors, particularly chlorophyll-a concentration, but also pond area and depth, are the main drivers of amphibian richness, together with climatic variables such as annual mean precipitation and temperature.

To assess the importance of the drivers of richness, we used Boosted Regression Trees, a #machinelearning technique that allows you to see the relative contribution of each variable and their particular effect at each level.

In these assessed ponds, the most common species was Lissotriton vulgaris, found in 41.8% of them, followed by Triturus cristatus (30.4%), Bufo bufo (27.9%) and Rana temporaria (25.4%)

In our study, we assessed over 201 ponds in 7 European countries. These ponds where characterised through a long list of variables, and their amphibian species richness was assessed using #eDNA metabarcoding.

Any other #wildlife #photographers around?

Check out this Hylarana from Khao Sok National Park in Thailand!