Relative importance of dynamic and static environmental variables as predictors of amphibian diversity patterns

Gómez‐Rodríguez, Carola; Díaz‐Paniagua, Carmen; Bustamante, Javier; Serrano, Laura; Portheault, Alexandre

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2010.10.002

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…In turn, high rainfall events permit spatial expansions as reflected by the increase in occupancy rate in the last years of our study. This pattern is widespread in amphibians (Salvador & Carrascal, 1990; Donnely & Crump, 1998; Gomez‐Rodriguez et al. , 2010b,c).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…This may be even more important in dry climates such as the Mediterranean one under which pond flooding strongly varies at intra‐ and interannual scales (Gomez‐Rodriguez, Bustamante & Diaz‐Paniagua, 2010a). Such a heterogeneous and unpredictable system leads to large variation in the yearly composition of amphibian communities (Gomez‐Rodriguez et al. , 2010b,c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reproductive dynamics of three amphibian species in Mediterranean wetlands: the role of local precipitation and hydrological regimes

et al. 2012

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Summary 1. Although the influence of water availability and precipitation regimes on amphibians has been studied at large scales, whether and how interannual rainfall and hydrological variations affect amphibians dynamics at a local scale have rarely been addressed. In this respect, accounting for variations in species detectability in space and time has also been overlooked. 2. We assessed the effects of rainfall and hydrological variations on the breeding dynamics of three amphibian taxa: Pelodytes punctatus, Hyla meridionalis and Pelophylax spp. in 20 ponds of the Camargue region (southern France) over a 7‐year study period. 3. We used multiple season occupancy models to test the effect of winter–spring rainfall and interannual variations in hydroperiod, mean water depth and drought events on tadpole presence in spring (March–June), a proxy for breeding dynamics. 4. We used an independent survey with spatial replicates (dipnet sweeps) to disentangle the relative contributions of phenology and detectability to the absence of records in a given month. For the three taxa considered, the probability of missing a species when that species was actually present in a pond was most often negligible. Hence, we could consider that multiseason models properly tracked changes in species phenology. 5. Pelodytes punctatus was first detected in March, while the two other taxa appeared later in April. Hyla meridionalis appeared as a mid‐season species with much more synchronous pond occupancy than Pelodytes punctatus. The detection peak of Pelophylax spp. was short and unexpectedly early for this taxon. 6. Seasonal winter–spring rainfall was associated with a decrease in extinction rates and even more strongly with an increase in colonisation rates at individual ponds. 7. Colonisation rate increased following an annual drought and was best modelled as a negative quadratic effect of the variance of pond hydroperiod. Extinction probability was best modelled by a negative quadratic effect of mean water level. Hence, breeding was more stochastic (i) in unpredictable and shallow ponds because of yearly drying up and (ii) in highly predictable and deep ponds, possibly due to the presence of predators such as fish and crayfish. 8. Overall, we show that ponds with intermediate rather than extreme variations in environmental conditions currently correspond to optimal breeding sites. Our study demonstrates that amphibian monitoring coupled with fine‐scale analysis of environmental conditions is necessary to understand species dynamics in the long run and to inform conservation efforts for these species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive dynamics of three amphibian species in Mediterranean wetlands: the role of local precipitation and hydrological regimes

et al. 2012

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“…, Gómez‐Rodríguez et al . , Moreira & Maltchik ), but not in others (Urban ). Nestedness in ephemeral ponds was studied mostly for tadpoles, and in the tropics only in a protected area (Moreira & Maltchik ).…”

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confidence: 78%

Local and Landscape Factors Driving the Structure of Tropical Anuran Communities: Do Ephemeral Ponds have a Nested Pattern?

2016

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The sets of species in animal and plant communities often comprise nested subsets of the species in broader communities. Although most mechanisms causing nested patterns are known and have been demonstrated for different environments and taxa, how amphibian communities are structured in ephemeral ponds in tropical disturbed landscapes remains unknown. We investigated if pond size, duration, presence of trees (local factors), and the proportion of forest cover surrounding ponds (landscape factor) affect anuran species richness and composition, and if pond assemblages showed a nested pattern. We sampled 11 ephemeral ponds in a pasture matrix near a large Atlantic Forest remnant in Brazil and measured local and landscape variables inside two buffer zones around each pond (100 and 500 m). We marked 1514 individuals from 23 anuran species, and found that richness in ponds ranged from 3–14 species. Both local and landscape factors explained frog species richness in the sampled ponds, and seemed to affect community composition. Frog communities occurred in a non‐nested pattern, contrary to our expectations: species found in poor subsets were not found in larger, more complex ponds. Local and landscape characteristics create a variety of environments in ephemeral ponds, even in impoverished ones; these characteristics restrict pond occupancy for some species, and result in a non‐nested pattern.

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“…galganoi (a species similar to D . pictus endemic to the western part of Iberian Peninsula) in species rich-communities [ 77 , 78 ]. On the other hand, D .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic Strategies of a Non-Native and a Native Amphibian Species in Shared Ponds

et al. 2015

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One of the critical factors for understanding the establishment, success and potential impact on native species of an introduced species is a thorough knowledge of how these species manage trophic resources. Two main trophic strategies for resource acquisition have been described: competition and opportunism. In the present study our objective was to identify the main trophic strategies of the non-native amphibian Discoglossus pictus and its potential trophic impact on the native amphibian Bufo calamita. We determine whether D. pictus exploits similar trophic resources to those exploited by the native B. calamita (competition hypothesis) or alternative resources (opportunistic hypothesis). To this end, we analyzed the stable isotope values of nitrogen and carbon in larvae of both species, in natural ponds and in controlled laboratory conditions. The similarity of the δ15N and δ13C values in the two species coupled with isotopic signal variation according to pond conditions and niche partitioning when they co-occurred indicated dietary competition. Additionally, the non-native species was located at higher levels of trophic niches than the native species and B. calamita suffered an increase in its standard ellipse area when it shared ponds with D. pictus. These results suggest niche displacement of B. calamita to non-preferred resources and greater competitive capacity of D. pictus in field conditions. Moreover, D. pictus showed a broader niche than the native species in all conditions, indicating increased capacity to exploit the diversity of resources; this may indirectly favor its invasiveness. Despite the limitations of this study (derived from potential variability in pond isotopic signals), the results support previous experimental studies. All the studies indicate that D. pictus competes with B. calamita for trophic resources with potential negative effects on the fitness of the latter.

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Relative importance of dynamic and static environmental variables as predictors of amphibian diversity patterns

Cited by 8 publications

References 59 publications

Reproductive dynamics of three amphibian species in Mediterranean wetlands: the role of local precipitation and hydrological regimes

Reproductive dynamics of three amphibian species in Mediterranean wetlands: the role of local precipitation and hydrological regimes

Local and Landscape Factors Driving the Structure of Tropical Anuran Communities: Do Ephemeral Ponds have a Nested Pattern?

Trophic Strategies of a Non-Native and a Native Amphibian Species in Shared Ponds

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