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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Effects of agriculture and topography on tropical amphibian species and communities

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Author(s):
Ribeiro, Jr., Jose Wagner [1, 2] ; Siqueira, Tadeu [1] ; Brejao, Gabriel Lourenco [3] ; Zipkin, Elise F. [2]
Total Authors: 4
Affiliation:
[1] Sao Paulo State Univ Unesp, Inst Biosci, Ave 24A 1515, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP - Brazil
[2] Evolutionary Biol & Behav Program, Dept Integrat Biol & Ecol, E Lansing, MI 48824 - USA
[3] Sao Paulo State Univ Unesp, Inst Biosci Humanities & Exact Sci, Rua Cristovao Colombo 2265, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: Ecological Applications; v. 28, n. 6, p. 1554-1564, SEP 2018.
Web of Science Citations: 2
Abstract

Habitat loss is the greatest threat to the persistence of forest-dependent amphibians, but it is not the only factor influencing species occurrences. The composition of the surrounding matrix, structure of stream networks, and topography are also important landscape characteristics influencing amphibian distributions. Tropical forests have high diversity and endemism of amphibians, but little is known about the specific responses of many of these species to landscape features. In this paper, we quantify the response of amphibian species and communities to landscape-scale characteristics in streams within the fragmented Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We surveyed amphibian communities during a rainy season in 50 independent stream segments using Standardized Acoustic and Visual Transect Sampling (active) and Automated Acoustic Recorders (passive) methods. We developed a hierarchical multi-species occupancy model to quantify the influence of landscape-scale characteristics (forest cover, agriculture, catchment area, stream density, and slope) on amphibian occurrence probabilities while accounting for imperfect detection of species using the two survey methods. At the community level, we estimated an overall mean positive relationship between amphibian occurrence probabilities and forest cover, and a negative relationship with agriculture. Catchment area and slope were negatively related with amphibian community structure (95% credible interval {[}CI] did not overlap zero). The species-level relationships with landscape covariates were highly variable but showed similar patterns to those at the community level. Species detection probabilities varied widely and were influenced by the sampling method. For most species, the active method resulted in higher detection probabilities than the passive approach. Our findings suggest that small streams and flat topography lead to higher amphibian occurrence probabilities for many species in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Our results combined with land use and topographic maps can be used to make predictions of amphibian occurrences and distributions beyond our study area. Such projections can be useful to determine where to conduct future research and prioritize conservation efforts in human-modified landscapes. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 14/07113-8 - Stream-dwelling anuran metacommunity structure and dynamics in the Atlantic Rainforest: a hierarchical approach that accounts for species imperfect detection
Grantee:José Wagner Ribeiro Júnior
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
FAPESP's process: 13/50424-1 - Scaling biodiversity in tropical and boreal streams: implications for diversity mapping and environmental assessment (ScaleBio)
Grantee:Tadeu de Siqueira Barros
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 12/21916-0 - Relationships among the deforestation process and the fish diversity patterns at Western Amazon streams
Grantee:Gabriel Lourenço Brejão
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
FAPESP's process: 16/07469-2 - Influence of forest cover on amphibian assemblages: a priori grouping of species in multi-species occupancy models
Grantee:José Wagner Ribeiro Júnior
Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
FAPESP's process: 13/50421-2 - New sampling methods and statistical tools for biodiversity research: integrating animal movement ecology with population and community ecology
Grantee:Milton Cezar Ribeiro
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants