Effects of Land‐Use Change on Community Composition of Tropical Amphibians and Reptiles in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Wanger, Thomas Cherico; Iskandar, Djoko T.; Motzke, Iris; Brook, Barry W.; Sodhi, Navjot S.; Clough, Yann; Tscharntke, Teja

doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01434.x

Cited by 90 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…If toad populations are reduced as a result of land-use change and pesticide use [23,24], our results suggest that A. gracilipes can flourish as an 'ecosystem transformer' (figure 1). In Sulawesi, rapid expansion of these ants drastically depletes natural ant diversity [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Endemic predators, invasive prey and native diversity

et al. 2010

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Interactions between native diversity and invasive species can be more complex than is currently understood. Invasive ant species often substantially reduce diversity in the native ants diversity that act as natural control agents for pest insects. In Indonesia (on the island of Sulawesi), the third largest cacao producer worldwide, we show that a predatory endemic toad (Ingerophrynus celebensis) controls invasive ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) abundance, and positively affects native ant diversity. We call this the invasive-naivety effect (an opposite of enemy release), whereby alien species may not harbour antipredatory defences against a novel native predator. A positive effect of the toads on native ants may facilitate their predation on insect vectors of cacao diseases. Hence, toads may increase crop yield, but further research is needed on this aspect. Ironically, amphibians are globally the most threatened vertebrate class and are strongly impacted by the conversion of rainforest to cacao plantations in Sulawesi. It is, therefore, crucial to manage cacao plantations to maintain these endemic toads, as they may provide critical ecosystem services, such as invasion resistance and preservation of native insect diversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Endemic predators, invasive prey and native diversity

et al. 2010

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“…To evaluate the effectiveness of sampling effort, the original bird species richness was transformed to an estimated richness by randomly adding 50 sampling sessions to the original data by using the bootstrap estimator, a measure that is considered more robust than other analytical estimators [25]. We used a regression model to estimate the correlation between the randomised original and bootstrap estimator data [26,27]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Windbreaks Sustain Bird Diversity in a Tea-Dominated Landscape

Sreekar

Mohan

Das³

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

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Windbreaks often form networks of forest habitats that improve connectivity and thus conserve biodiversity, but little is known of such effects in the tropics. We determined bird species richness and community composition in windbreaks composed of remnant native vegetation amongst tea plantations (natural windbreaks), and compared it with the surrounding primary forests. Fifty-one, ten-minute point counts were conducted in each habitat type over three days. Despite the limited sampling period, our bird inventories in both natural windbreaks and primary forests were nearly complete, as indicated by bootstrap true richness estimator. Bird species richness and abundance between primary forests and windbreaks were similar, however a difference in bird community composition was observed. Abundances of important functional groups such as frugivores and insectivores did not vary between habitat types but nectarivores were more abundant in windbreaks, potentially as a result of the use of windbreaks as traveling routes, foraging and nesting sites. This preliminary study suggests that natural windbreaks may be important habitats for the persistence of bird species in a production landscape. However, a better understanding of the required physical and compositional characteristics for windbreaks to sustain bird communities is needed for effective conservation management.

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“…Microhabitats are used by a wide range of taxa: Logs and tree cavities provide habitat for amphibians, birds, small mammals, and invertebrates (Stapp 1997;Cadavid, Roman-Valencia et al 2005;Grüebler, Widmer et al 2014); epiphytic plants such as bromeliads and bird's nest ferns (Asplenium) offer shelter and breeding habitat for amphibian and invertebrate communities (Ellwood and Foster 2004;Urbina and Galeano 2009;Silva, Carvalho et al 2011;Jocque and Field 2014;McCracken and Forstner 2014;Scheffers, Phillips et al 2014); and leaf-litter and soil are commonly used by amphibians and invertebrates (Stapp 1997;McGlynn and Kirksey 2000;Cadavid, Roman-Valencia et al 2005;Urbina and Galeano 2009;Wanger, Iskandar et al 2010). Microhabitats, along with providing space for breeding and foraging, also provide buffered shelter during extreme weather events, although the latter has only been recorded in primary old-growth forest (Scheffers, Edwards et al 2014), not secondary forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermally buffered microhabitats recovery in tropical secondary forests following land abandonment

Pliego

Scheffers

Basham

et al. 2016

Biological Conservation

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Given the dramatic loss of tropical forests and accelerating climate change, secondary forest regeneration is increasingly recognised as being an important method for reversing losses in biodiversity and carbon stocks. The recolonisation of biodiversity within secondary forests depends upon the recovery of forest structure, including the range of microhabitats used by diverse communities. Here, we investigate the return of critical microhabitats along a successional gradient of secondary forest in the Tropical Andes of Colombia. We measured the abundance of live (bromeliads, tree ferns and moss) and dead (deadwood and leaf litter) microhabitats across three landscapes, each encompassing primary, and young and old secondary forests. Considering the increasing rate of climate warming in the region, we also explored whether these microhabitats provide thermally buffered microclimates. We found that secondary forests have different composition and lower complexity of microhabitats than primary forests, but that the abundance of bromeliads and deadwood recover towards primary levels. Each microhabitat reduces exposure to extreme temperatures, serving as thermal buffers by reducing maximum and increasing minimum temperatures among all forest types. These benefits exist despite ambient temperatures in secondary forests surpassing those of primary forests by 1-2⁰C on average. The protection of secondary forest and promotion of further forest regrowth in the Tropical Andes should represent an urgent investment for conservation, and the value of these secondary forests for offering critical microhabitats and buffered microclimates under climate change should not be overlooked.

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Effects of Land‐Use Change on Community Composition of Tropical Amphibians and Reptiles in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Cited by 90 publications

References 27 publications

Endemic predators, invasive prey and native diversity

Endemic predators, invasive prey and native diversity

Natural Windbreaks Sustain Bird Diversity in a Tea-Dominated Landscape

Thermally buffered microhabitats recovery in tropical secondary forests following land abandonment

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