Embryonic Survival and Egg Numbers in Small and Large Populations of the Frog Heleioporus albopunctatus in Western Australia

Abstract
A critical component of amphibian life history relates to understanding the role of embryonic mortality in regulating recruitment and, therefore, population size. We examined the predictions that small populations have higher embryonic mortality and reduced clutch sizes in the Western Australian frog, Heleioporus albopunctatus. Embryonic mortality was low, averaging 3% per clutch. Four of 55 clutches examined (∼ 7%) were infested by dipteran larvae. We found no significant relationship between clutch size or embryonic mortality and population size.