The British Herpetological Society

The Herpetological Journal is the Society's prestigious quarterly scientific journal. Articles are listed in Biological Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences,Current Contents, Science Citation Index, and Zoological Record.

 ISSN 0268-0130

2021 Impact Factor from Clarivate for the Herpetological Journal is 1.194, an increase of 0.332 from 2020.


pdf 02. Great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) as indicators of aquatic plant diversity

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pp. 347-352
Authors: Gustafson, Daniel H.; Pettersson, Cecilia Journath & Malmgren, Jan C.

Abstract: In a field study in south central Sweden, we analysed the diversity of macrophytes in paired samples of ponds in a total of five geographically separated sites. Each pair of ponds involved one pond with presence of great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) and one pond in which newts were absent. Ponds with presence of great crested newts had a significantly higher mean number of plant species than ponds without newts. Newts occurred in ponds that tended to have a lower amount of pond area covered by surface vegetation, although this difference was not statistically significant. Macrophyte diversity also tended to increase more steeply in ponds with T. cristatus, compared with ponds without newts. Broad-leaved pond weed (Potamogeton natans) and square-leaved liverwort (Chiloscyphus pallescens) were among the plants that were most associated with presence of great crested newts. Plant diversity had a slightly more nested structure for ponds with great crested newts than for those without, which indicates a more homogeneous plant species assemblage in the former group of ponds. Overall, the results indicate that the great crested newt may be a reliable and useful indicator species for high plant species richness in ponds and small wetlands, which may be valuable for environmental monitoring and conservation in pond landscapes.

Keywords: HABITAT SELECTION, POND SUCCESSION, AMPHIBIA, SPECIES DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS

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IMPORTANT NOTE - JUNE 2020

Please note that as from Volume 31 Number 1 (January 2021) on, the Herpetological Journal will be available as an online publication only - the last print edition will be Volume 30 Number 4.   

Aligning with this change, it is now no longer possible to purchase a subscription that includes a print copy of the HJ.  All members who have existing HJ print subscriptions that remain active as at end June 2020 will receive the full four 2020 print editions.  New subscribers or renewals after this time will only have option to subscribe to the online only subscription package.  Subscription pricing has been amended to reflect the content changes.

 

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