The relationship between pond habitat depth and functional tadpole diversity in an agricultural landscape

Author(s)

Queiroz, Cassia de Souza ^[1] ; da Silva, Fernando Rodrigues ^[2] ; Rossa-Feres, Denise de Cerqueira ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista, Programa Posgrad Biol Anim, UNESP, Campus Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Ciencias Ambientais, Sorocaba, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Bot & Zool, UNESP, Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE; v. 2, n. 7 JUL 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 6

Abstract

One of the most important goals of biodiversity studies is to identify which characteristics of local habitats act as filters that determine the diversity of functional traits along environmental gradients. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the environmental variables of ponds and the functional trait diversity distribution of anuran tadpoles in an agricultural area in southeastern Brazil. Our results show that the functional trait diversity of frog tadpoles has a bell-curve-shaped relationship with the depths of ponds inserted in a pasture matrix. Because we are witnessing increasing human pressure on land use, simple acts (e.g. maintaining reproductive habitats with medium depth) can be the first steps towards preserving the diversity of Neotropical frog tadpole traits in agricultural landscapes. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/50714-0 - Influence of ecological and evolutionary processes in structuring amphibian communities at different spatial and temporal scales
• Grantee: Fernando Rodrigues da Silva
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 10/52321-7 - Diversity and ecology of tadpoles from Central Amazonia
• Grantee: Denise de Cerqueira Rossa-Feres
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants