136 
C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr. 
per female were estimated, then each female would have deposited be- 
tween 9680 and 20,350 eggs, again within the range of literature reports. 
Obviously, knowledge of other aspects of a species’ biology would severely 
limit basing predictions about anuran population breeding characteristics 
solely on tadpole counts. However, depending on species, photographic 
analysis of a tadpole population could be substituted for, or used to sup- 
plement, counts in the field. Thus, photography could provide a valuable 
technique for the estimation of certain amphibian population parameters. 
There are obvious problems with the method. Deep ponds or those that 
are very murky or clogged with vegetation would not be suitable for such 
analysis, nor would ponds that harbor many species of tadpoles, since 
tadpoles are difficult to identify without examining certain key charac- 
teristics (Altig 1970). However, many types of tadpole populations would 
seem to be particularly suited to photographic analysis, notably tadpoles 
of those species which use shallow and/or temporary water sources, es- 
pecially in xeric habitats. In addition, photographic analysis could be 
valuable in monitoring the breeding status of species considered en- 
dangered or threatened, such as the Houston toad, Bufo houstonensis. The 
animals could be left undisturbed, thus avoiding the harassment which 
may be prohibited by law without a special permit. Sequential 
photography might also prove valuable in studies of the orientation 
behavior of tadpoles over a period of time. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . — I would like to thank John Fay, Bruce 
MacBryde, and LaVerne Smith for identifying the plants. Ronn Altig, 
Paul V. Cupp, James J. Hebrard and an anonymous reviewer provided 
valuable criticisms and comments on the manuscript. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Altig, Ronald. 1970. A key to the tadpoles of the continental United States and 
Canada. Herpetologica 26:180-207. 
Beiswenger, Ronald E. 1975. Structure and function in aggregations of tadpoles of 
the American toad, Bufo americanus. Herpetologica 31: 222-233. 
Caughley, Graeme. 1977. Analysis of vertebrate populations. John Wiley & Sons, 
London. 234 pp. 
Giles, R. H., Jr. (ed.). 1969. Wildlife management techniques. Wild. Society, 
Washington, D. C. 623 pp. 
Watson, R. M. 1969. Aerial photographic methods in censuses of animals. East 
African Agric. For. J. 34: 32-37. 
Accepted 8 July 1979 
