Between a rock and a hard place: Comparing rock-dwelling animal prevalence across abandoned paddy, orchards, and rock outcrops in a biodiversity hotspot

Jithin, Vijayan; Rane, Manali; Watve, Aparna; Giri, Varad B.; Naniwadekar, Rohit

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02582

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted October 5, 2023. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.03.560737 doi: bioRxiv preprint extreme climate, microhabitats such as pools and loose rocks (Jithin et al, 2023) can serve as an oasis harbouring biodiversity. In light of climate change, when the temperatures are expected to rise and the rainfall patterns change in the study area (Todmal, 2021), large rock pools will play a critical role for ensuring persistence of amphibians in these open ecosystems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the fauna on the plateaus are exposed to hot and dry summers and water-logged monsoons (Watve, 2013). The microhabitats on these rock outcrops, such as loose rocks, pools, streams, and flush vegetation, provide refuge to multiple fauna (Jithin et al, 2023;Thorpe and Watve, 2015).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Microhabitats, such as loose rocks, that shelter animals from extreme heat and rain play a critical role in harbouring diverse animal taxa (Jithin et al, 2023). Rock outcrops on the west coast of India are bare and dry in the summer but transform into an aquatic habitat with the onset of the monsoon, providing critical microhabitats for amphibians.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the ecology of these outcrops is poorly understood, rapid agricultural land-use changes are transforming such landscapes (Kulkarni et al, 2022;Madhusudan and Vanak, 2022). These plateaus have traditionally been converted to paddy, and mango and cashew plantations recently, differentially impacting native biodiversity (Bhattacharyya et al, 2019;Jithin et al, 2023). Conversion of these rock outcrops to paddy and agroforestry plantations offers contrasting examples of disturbances, one where the open ecosystem is converted to tree-based agriculture, and paddy wherein the surface is inundated with water for a prolonged duration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community- and species-level responses

Jithin,

Rane,

Watve

et al. 2023

Preprint

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With agricultural demands increasing globally, determining the nature of impacts of different forms of agriculture on biodiversity, especially for threatened vertebrates and habitats, is critical to inform land management. We determined the impacts of converting rock outcrops (a habitat more threatened than rainforests) to orchards and paddy on anurans in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. We sampled 50 belt transects four times across four sites during the rainy season and recorded information on amphibians and their microhabitats. We determined community-level responses using Hill numbers, beta-diversity measures, and non-metric multidimensional scaling, and species-level responses using joint species distribution modelling. Converting rock outcrops to paddy and orchards significantly altered microhabitat availability. Conversion to paddy mostly had community-level impacts, i.e., lowered species richness and more nested communities, whereas conversion to orchards mostly had species-level impacts, i.e., lowered species occurrence, highlighting the differential impacts of different forms of agriculture on amphibians and the need to determine impacts of land-use change on communities and species concurrently. We show that large rock pools are critical microhabitats for anurans as they serve as a refuge and protect anurans from desiccation during dry spells, which may be prolonged by climate change. Since rock outcrop habitats in low elevations are rapidly being converted to orchards, efforts are needed to conserve them in partnership with local communities, the custodians of these habitats. Our findings demonstrate that different forms of agriculture can have divergent impacts on biodiversity, and determining their impacts may require assessments at multiple scales, from species to communities.HIGHLIGHTSOrchard and paddy conversions affect anurans and their microhabitats on rock outcropsConversion to paddy has community-level impacts, i.e., reduced diversityConversion to orchards has species-level impacts, i.e., lowered species occurrenceRock pools, an important habitat for outcrop anurans, must be preserved or createdThere is a need to study species-and community-level impacts simultaneously

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community- and species-level responses

Jithin,

Rane,

Watve

et al. 2023

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Effects of land use change and elevation on endemic shrub frogs in a biodiversity hotspot

Lad,

Gosavi,

Jithin

et al. 2024

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Agroforestry, often promoted as a sustainable agriculture practice, is rapidly expanding, often at the cost of primary tropical forests. While agroforestry impacts amphibian diversity negatively, its effects on population demography, microhabitat use and body condition are relatively understudied. This information is crucial for determining and promoting amphibian-friendly land use practices. We compared habitats, population densities, microhabitat use, and body condition of two endemic species of shrub frogs (Pseudophilautus amboli and Raorchestes bombayensis) across 1) elevations (low- and high-elevation forests) and 2) land use categories (cashew, rubber, and low-elevation forests) in the northern part of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. Using distance sampling, we demonstrated that abundances of the two shrub frog species differed across elevation categories, with Pseudophilautus more common in low-elevation forests and Raorchestes more prevalent in high-elevation forests. Both species of frogs exhibited extremely skewed, male-biased sex ratios, with three females for 100 males. Pseudophilautus had lower densities and poor recruitment and exhibited altered microhabitat use in cashew plantations compared to low-elevation forests. Although adult male Pseudophilautus densities in rubber were similar to those in low-elevation forests, they exhibited altered microhabitat use and smaller body sizes than in forests, indicating poor body condition. We demonstrate differential impacts of agroforestry types on shrub frogs. We also demonstrate that distance sampling can be a useful tool for population monitoring of shrub frogs, which comprise almost 25% of the anuran diversity in the Western Ghats. Additionally, there is a need to identify the drivers of extremely skewed sex ratios, which make these species vulnerable to population crashes. Considering the recent downlisting of the two focal species to Least Concern, we advocate for their uplisting to at least Near Threatened status in light of their patchy distribution, negative impacts of rapidly expanding agroforestry plantations and extremely skewed sex ratios.

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Between a rock and a hard place: Comparing rock-dwelling animal prevalence across abandoned paddy, orchards, and rock outcrops in a biodiversity hotspot

Cited by 2 publications

References 59 publications

Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community- and species-level responses

Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community- and species-level responses

Effects of land use change and elevation on endemic shrub frogs in a biodiversity hotspot

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