Shit Happens (to be Useful)! Use of Elephant Dung as Habitat by Amphibians

Although elephants are commonly cited as an example of ecosystem engineering, cases involving Asian elephants are missing in the literature. In a dry environment of southeastern Sri Lanka, I examined 290 elephant dung piles and found a total of six frogs from three different species in 1.7 percent (N=5) of the dung piles. This suggests a facilitative role of elephants by providing habitat for amphibians.