Inventory and morphometrics of anuran species found in Mt. Kilala of the Mt. Hamiguitan range wildlife sanctuary, governor generoso, davao oriental, Philippines

<p>Mt. Kilala is part of Mt Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary located in Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental, Philippines, which hosts diverse and endemic species of flora and fauna – including amphibians. This inventory of anuran species yielded eight species of anurans that belong to six families. The highest species richness recorded was D=1.010 and species diversity was H'=1.73, which was moderately high, with 48 individual captures recorded in Site 1 (198 masl). The other two sites only yielded two captures in total despite spending 54 person-hours in search of anurans. The most number of anuran species encountered preferred the aquatic microhabitat. Also, the body size of anurans was a better predictor than its weight for the type of habitat it will occupy. The study recorded one Southeast Asia endemic species, two Philippine endemic species, and four Mindanao island endemic species. Most of these species found were located in the aquatic microhabitat that favors reproduction and development. The differences in their relative abundance are a reflection of the species tolerance limits to their habitats. Included in the inventory of species are Megophrys stejnegeri (Taylor, 1920) and Limnonectes magnus (Stejneger, 1909), which were identified as Mindanao island endemic with vulnerable conservation status in the IUCN red list. The advertised calls of various anurans were from four different species, namely: Kalophrynus sinensis (Peters, 1867), Limnonectes leytensis (Boettger, 1893), Polypedates leucomystax (Gravenhorst, 1829), and Staurois natator (Günther, 1859). Specific call parameters make the vocalization of each species unique. This study, along with other literature, confirms that higher elevation sites harbor fewer anuran species. The occurrence of a high number of endemic and vulnerable anuran species in the area indicates the need for practical conservation and protection measures, which include zoning for access and no access parts in the buffer zone – especially those that harbor aquatic habitats.