Population Dynamics of the Long-Tailed Clawed Salamander Larva, Onychodactylus fischeri, and Its Age Structure in Korea

Larvae of the long-tailed clawed salamander, Onychodactylus fischeri, have a relatively long larval period,spending a year or more within the stream where they hatch; therefore, a well-established larval population could becritical for the conservation of adult populations. To study the population dynamics of long-tailed clawed salamanderlarvae, we surveyed a field population once or twice a month from September, 2005 to June, 2006, and determined theage of larval clawed salamanders collected from three different populations in October, 2004 using skeletochronology. Theage of long-tailed clawed salamander larvae ranged from 0 to 3 years. New recruitment of larvae in the populationprimarily occurred in November, 2005, and mid-March, 2006. Larvae with a snout-vent length of more than 30 mmdisappeared from the streams in September, 2005, suggesting that two to three year-old clawed salamander larvaemetamorphosed during this period.