Published July 25, 2025
| Version v2
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Data from: Limited role of aquatic habitat complexity in mitigating the ecological impact of invasive bullfrogs on native amphibians
Authors/Creators
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1.
KU Leuven
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2.
Research Institute for Nature and Forest
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3.
Ghent University
Description
Spatial overlap in habitat use and structural habitat complexity can shape the ecological impact of biological invasions. Environmental conditions that mitigate these impacts can be exploited
in nature-based conservation strategies aimed at damage reduction when complete eradication
is no longer feasible. In this study, we investigated how site-level habitat characteristics shape
the ecological impact of non-native American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) on native am-
phibian communities. We surveyed 134 standing water bodies in Belgium using environmental
DNA (eDNA) quantitative barcoding and metabarcoding to assess bullfrog density and native
amphibian community structure, respectively, and recorded 25 habitat characteristics. We in-
vestigated (i) environmental niche overlap between native amphibians and bullfrogs, (ii)
species-habitat associations, and (iii) the interactive effect of aquatic habitat complexity, based
on aquatic macrophyte coverage, and bullfrog density on native amphibians. Our findings show
that the environmental niche of native amphibians was substantially smaller than and nested
within that of bullfrogs, potentially limiting opportunities for impact mitigation through niche
differentiation. Native species with smaller niches and stronger habitat associations were gener-
ally more affected by bullfrogs than less habitat-specific species. Although structurally complex
aquatic habitats generally benefited most native amphibians, these positive effects were often
outweighed by the negative impacts of increasing bullfrog densities. The ability of aquatic habi-
tat complexity provided by aquatic macrophytes to reduce the impact of non-native bullfrogs de-
pended on the native amphibian species involved and the specific conservation objectives being
pursued—whether oriented toward maintaining amphibian species richness or ensuring the per-
sistence of focal species. Increasing aquatic habitat complexity alone is thus insufficient as a
stand-alone management strategy to protect native amphibians from non-native bullfrogs.
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