Human welfare depends directly or indirectly on the services provided by ecosystems. Amphibians and reptiles represent a high proportion of global species diversity and include species that are widely distributed throughout the world and play a variety of roles that benefit humans. The aim of this study was to identify and describe the ecosystem services provided by amphibians and reptiles in Neotropical ecosystems to evaluate the contribution of these highly diverse groups to human welfare. We conducted a literature review of articles and books from databases and university libraries and collected data from 106 studies. Amphibians and reptiles contributed directly and indirectly to the four types of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting. Most available studies reported the use of direct services from reptiles and indirect services from amphibians. Although eight ecosystem services were identified, most studies focused on reptiles as seed dispersers and protein sources. Biological pest control and bioturbation were the most widely studied services obtained from amphibians. Further research are necessary to understand the ecological functions involving amphibians and reptiles and their importance in the provision of key ecosystem services for human well-being.

This study determines the composition of amphibian ensembles along a vegetation gradient in the coastal Pacific rainforests in Colombia. Eight environmental and structural variables were measured to characterize the species' habitats and to determine which was most important in structuring amphibian patterns. After a total of 432 man-hours sampling effort, 513 individuals from 32 amphibian species were found. Although the species richness was similar among the vegetation cover types, the composition of the ensembles and total amphibian abundance were different in each case. In addition, a strong relationship was found between changes in the vegetation structure and the amphibian pattern, with the canopy cover being the key variable in the composition of the ensembles for each cover type. Habitats with over 76% canopy cover, combined with a high density of individual woody plants (> 176 individuals per 500 m 2) and a high depth of leaf litter (> 16 cm), provide the necessary habitat conditions for typical rainforest composition of amphibian species. However, for amphibian ensembles to have a mature forest composition, the habitat must have a canopy cover over 89%, a density of woody plants exceeding 231 individuals per 500 m 2 , and a leaf litter depth above 23 cm. Therefore, future studies of amphibian succession and restoration in tropical forests must determine the changes in vegetation structure, rather than the possible direct effect of microclimatic variables.

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Species traits provide a strong link between an organism's fitness and processes at community and ecosystem levels. However, such data remain scarce for amphibians in the Neotropics. Colombia is the country with the highest number of threatened amphibians and the second greatest number of amphibian species worldwide. We present a data set containing eight morphological traits for 4,623 museum specimens of the seven largest collections in the country corresponding to 293 species of 14 families. The number of measured specimens per species ranged from 1 to 118 individuals with a median of 8 individuals per species. Overall, this database gathered morphological information for 37.6% of Colombian anuran diversity. Species measured were mainly distributed in the high Andean forest, the páramo, and wetland ecosystems, and was part of a national initiative led by the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt. The morphological traits were selected on the basis of their role in species’ responses to environmental variability and their contributions to ecosystem processes. These traits were related to habitat use, (forearm length, tibia length, femur length, foot length, and foot webbing), predation and food chains (head width and mouth width), and nutrient recycling (snout–vent length). We expect this data set will be used in studies on functional diversity in amphibians and the development of conservation planning for these taxa. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set other than citation of this Data Paper.

This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the economic values for ecosystem services (ESs) in Colombia. Were analyzed 154 studies that estimated economic values for 21 ESs in 18 general ecosystems. In total, 502 values were coded and classified according to the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services -CICES. Despite being a technique that is not based on primary economic valuation information, Benefits transfer was the most common method used to estimate the value of ESs in Colombia, followed by market prices and contingent valuation. Opportunities for recreation and tourism, climate regulation, habitat conservation, and water have been the most valued ESs. Many important ESs remain unnoticed and are not adequately accounted (e.g. pollination). Additionally, 53% of the information available on the economic values of ESs is concentrated in only 5 of the 32 Colombian departments. Finally, this review highlights the multiple challenges of Colombian academics and practitioners to improve the economic valuation practice and complement and recognize the multiple social relationships and the multiple views in terms of the values nature has.

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