The amphibious community of a meadow ditch complex

In the spring of 1986 almost 3000 amphibians were caught in 6 meadow ditches with a combined length of about 570 m. The largest part of the catch (65%) consisted of Alpine newts. Spotted newts made up 29% of all caught animals. The 6% share of anura is due to predation pressure by the newt species. Different catch amounts were recorded along an amphibian fence running parallel to the forest and in individual ditches. This points to the fact that a large percentage of female newts winter in the forest. The majority of newts spend the whole year on the meadow. The percentage of Alpine and spotted newts in the individual ditches points to a preference for cooler water by the Alpine newt. The study shows the meadow ditch compexes to be of great importance for the regional amphibious populations.