From a written communication of the owner:
"When Hurricane Hugo hit the island of Puerto Rico in September 1989, I was fortunate to have two study plots in which all adult E. coqui had been individually marked and measured as recently as July 1989. Here I report population patterns in those plots from 1987 to October 1990. I also report less detailed information on other species of Eleutherodactylus in the forest.
Two study plots, measuring 20 x 20 m, were located at the El Verde study site, one on a dry hilltop in mature tabonuco (Dacryodes excelsa) forest and the other in an adjacent wet ravine where sierra palms (Prestoea montana) predominated. Prior to the hurricane, measurements were taken twice yearly, during the summer (June and/or July) and winter (usually January). After the hurricane, measurements were taken every other month. The number of censuses conducted during each study period varied from 4-14. We did all censuses between 2000-0200 hr by visually searching tree trunks, foliage, and other surfaces within the plot. All adults frogs (defined as ≥ mm snout-vent length [SVL] were captured, individually marked by toe-clipping , and measured to the nearest 0.5 mm with dial calipers. Juvenile frogs (<25mm SVL) were not captured, but were counted during each study period on at least three nights. On one of those nights, we used plastic rulers to measure juveniles and assigned each to a 5 mm size class (6-10, 11-15, etc.).
Adult population size was defined as the total number of individual adult E. coqui captured during the first four censuses of each study period. Adult survivorship was the proportion of all adults captured during the previous study period that were recaptured during the current study period. Juvenile population size was the maximum count of the study period. Adult survivorship was the proportion of all adults captured during the previous study period that were recaptured during the current study period. Juvenile population size was the maximum count of the study period.
As a general index of male calling activity, sound pressure level (SPL) was measured at the beginning of each census using a Realistic sound pressure level meter (model 42-3019) set on slow response. I took SPL readings for 2 min at the beginning of each night (usually around 2000 hr), from a point halfway between the two study plots, by directing the meter at each of the 4 cardinal points and noting the lowest sound levels. Sound pressure level was defined as the mean of the four minimum values."
