The Black-spotted pond frog (
Rana nigromaculata
) is one of the most widely distributed species in China. However, to date there are few qualitative descriptions of their breeding ecology and oviposition site selection. Such issues have important implications for establishing more effective conservation and protection management strategies for this species. From 2004 to 2006, we studied
Rana nigromaculata
in Ningbo, China, to quantify their breeding ecology and oviposition site selection. Analyses of breeding ecology showed that: (1) mean frog density in the breeding season was 0.0903±0.0029/m (n=11) (all data are listed as Mean±SE); (2) R. nigromaculata is a sexually dimorphic species, with females significantly larger than males in both body weight and snout-vent length; (3) the clutch size averaged 4643.04±235.96 eggs (range 1 546-7 897, n=50); and (4) the egg size ranged from 1.50 to 1.74 mm in diameter, with an average egg size of 1.6050±0.0046 mm (n=226). Oviposition sites differed significantly from randomly selected sites in percentages of water, bare ground and vegetation cover, water depth (cm), water temperature (
oC) and water turbidity. Rana nigromaculata preferred microhabitats with higher percentages of water and vegetation cover, while it avoided microhabitats with deeper water. The results suggest that microhabitats with higher percentages of water and vegetation cover, but not deeper water, should be priorities for protection to conserve the breeding habitats of
R. nigromaculata.
