Brum, D. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2021

Trait-environment relationship in tadpoles of the southern Atlantic Forest

O_LIEnvironmental predictors select individuals by their functional traits, shaping the anuran assembly patterns. Individuals respond to environmental filters that can be on a local or regional scale. C_LIO_LIIn this study, we investigated the association between local (water and microhabitat) and landscape variables and the morphological traits of tadpoles of ponds and streams. The study was conducted in the southern region of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We sampled 28 waterbodies and recorded 22 anurans species. We performed RLQ and fourth-corner analyses to determine the patterns of trait-environment relationships and determine which environmental and landscape variables influence the morphological characteristics of tadpoles from streams and ponds. C_LIO_LIWe found that the morphological traits of tadpoles are influenced mainly by physicochemical and microhabitat attributes, being distinct between ponds and streams. In ponds, water depth, pH, and the presence of vegetation influence the morphological traits of the tadpoles, while in the streams water pH, temperature, conductivity, total alkalinity, Alk HCO3, and microhabitat variables played a major role in defining the traits. C_LIO_LIOur results indicate that local components of habitat (water characteristics and microhabitat) influence functional traits of tadpoles in both ponds and streams, especially those supposedly related to locomotory, foraging and prey-detection abilities. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Association between land use and composition of amphibian species in temperate Brazilian forest remnants

We evaluated the influence of landscape configuration on the diversity of anurans in Atlantic Forest remnants in southern Brazil. As natural habits provide better conditions for the survival of amphibians, we expected to find more diverse communities in areas with more forest cover. We sampled tadpoles in 28 breeding sites distributed in seven forest remnants. We recorded 22 anuran species and richness varied from 6 to 12 species between sites. Most of the recorded species were not forest specialists, except for Boana curupi and Crossodactylus schmidti. There was a significant overlap in the species composition between all remnants, and the Generalized Linear Mixed Model indicated that landscape use did not affect species richness. The PERMANOVA showed that forest and livestock farming explained the dissimilarity in the composition of the communities. One possible explanation for this is that the remnants are surrounded by a relatively well-preserved landscape, which offers favorable conditions for the maintenance of local populations and homogenizes species composition across the sampling sites. The lack of any strong association between tadpole species richness and land use suggests that anurans are primally affected by habitat characteristics that are detected only on a fine-scale analysis.

ecology↗