Ecological traps are a challenge to conservation, potentially increasing
extinction risk. However, not all traps were made equal. We suggest that
sites that usually constitute ecological traps may benefit populations
of r-selected species. As a model system we investigate the effects of
man-made ephemeral pools such as storm-water catchments on the
population dynamics of an r-selected amphibian species, and compare it
to a k-selected species. Ephemeral pools may act as breeding sites and
habitat for adult individuals however they often desiccate too early for
tadpole metamorphosis, leading to offspring mortality. We use
agent-based simulations over multi-generational timescales to study a
range of ecologically-reasonable parameters. We find that the
contribution of traps to population viability, thanks to rare years in
which their hydro-period suffices for metamorphosis, exceeds the
detrimental effects in other years. Counterintuitively, eliminating such
potential traps from the environment may reduce the viability of
meta-populations and increase extinction risk.