Human-assisted invasions of pacific islands by litoria frogs: a case study of the bleating tree frog on Lord Howe Island.

ABSTRACT: There are substantial differences among taxonomic groups in their capacity to reach remote oceanic islands via long-distance overwater dispersal from mainland regions. Due to their permeable skin and intolerance of saltwater, amphibians generally require human-assisted dispersal to reach oceanic islands. Several Litoria frog species have been introduced to remote islands throughout the Pacific Ocean region. Lord Howe Island (LHI) is an oceanic island that lies approximately 600 km east of the Australian mainland and has a diverse, endemic biota. The bleating tree frog (Litoria dentata) is native to mainland eastern Australia, but was accidentally introduced to LHI in the 1990s, yet its ecology and potential impact on LHI has remained unstudied. We used a mitochondrial phylogeographical app

SUBMITTER: Plenderleith TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4427294 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature