BULLETIN FLORIDA MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY 38(1)


almost entirely of ants and termites (Holman and Campbell 1958; Ashton and
Ashton 1985). Breeding occurs in a wide variety of temporary water habitats,
including ponds, ditches, and pools. Although commonly found in the Florida
sandhills (Campbell and Christman 1982; Mushinsky 1985), Gastrophryne occurs
in many other habitat types (Carr 1940; Anderson 1954).
 Despite its large range and conspicuous nature during the breeding season,
there have been few studies of its ecology (Wright 1932; Anderson 1954) or even
of the timing of various activities, including reproductive phenophase (sensu
Mitchell 1979; Trauth et al. 1990). In other parts of the Southeast, data consist
mostly of observations on numbers at breeding ponds taken incidentally to other
studies (e.g. Gibbons and Bennett 1974; Gibbons and Semlitsch 1982, 1991) or of
anecdotal information on distribution, calling, coloration and feeding (Hecht and
Matalas 1946; Duellman and Schwartz 1958; Nelson 1972; Dalrymple 1988).
This paper presents data on the ecology of a Florida sandhills eastern narrow-
mouthed toad population and its response to a prolonged drought. These results
will form the baseline data for monitoring this population as part of a planned
long-term assessment of amphibian status.


 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


 I thank R. Altig, M. Crump, D. Forester, R. Franz, J. Palis and J.H.K. Pechmann for reviewing drafts
of the manuscript and offering helpful suggestions. B. Charest, K. Enge, J. Stuart, M. Blouin, K. Studenroth,
and R. Burke assisted in data collection. I especially thank R. Franz for advice and shared information over
the years and L. LaClaire and L Smith for information on the vegetation and physical structure of
Breezeway Pond.


 STUDY AREA AND METHODS


 Field data were collected at Breezeway Pond, a 0.16 ha depression marsh
(Florida Natural Areas Inventory 1990) located in a shallow 1.3 ha basin on the
Katharine Ordway Preserve/ Swisher Memorial Sanctuary, Putnam Co., Florida.
The pond is surrounded by a "high pine" community dominated by longleaf pine
(Pinus palustris), turkey oak (Quercus laevis), and wiregrass (Aristida stricta) to
the south and west, a maidencane (Panicum hemitomon) meadow to the east, and a
xeric oak hammock dominated by sand live oak (Q. geminata) and laurel oak (Q.
hemisphaerica) to the north. Breezeway Pond is formed in a shallow sinkhole
depression and is not part of a flow-through drainage system. Water enters the
pond solely from rainfall and groundwater recharge. The hydroperiod is thus
dependent upon the level of the water table in the nearby surrounding uplands.
Water percolates downhill into the basin where it is trapped by stratified organic