Species- and community-level responses to habitat spatial changes in fragmented rainforests: assessing compensatory dynamics in amphibians and reptiles

Russildi, Giovanni; Arroyo‐Rodríguez, Víctor; Hernández‐Ordóñez, Omar; Pineda, Eduardo; Reynoso, Víctor Hugo

doi:10.1007/s10531-016-1056-3

Cited by 58 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…The diversity metrics of forest fragments were almost entirely similar to those of continuous forest, indicating a great tolerance of amphibian communities to forest isolation. This result is consistent with previous assessments of tree species (Hernández‐Ruedas et al, ) and reptile species (Russildi et al, ) the region, emphasizing the need for conserving as many forest fragments as possible in the region. In this sense, several species are listed in the IUCN ( Eleutherodactylus leprus , Bolitoglossa mulleri , and Craugastor alfredi are listed in the IUCN red list as vulnerable; Incilius campbelli , S. cyanosticta , and Craugastor laticeps are listed as near threatened; and Craugastor palenque and G. syntrema are listed as data deficient; IUCN, ), and the population trends for 34.3% of the species are decreasing (Hernández‐Ordóñez et al, ), with most of these species are exclusively in old‐growth forests (Supporting Information Table ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Species sorting and mass effect along forest succession: Evidence from taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of amphibian communities

Hernández‐Ordóñez

Santos

Pyron

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Species recovery after forest disturbance is a highly studied topic in the tropics, but considerable debate remains on the role of secondary forests as biodiversity repositories, especially regarding the functional and phylogenetic dimensions of biodiversity. Also, studies generally overlook how alpha and beta diversities interact to produce gamma diversity along successional gradients. We used a metacommunity approach to assess how species sorting (i.e., environmental filtering) and mass effect (i.e., source‐sink dynamics) affect 14 complementary metrics of amphibian taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity along a successional gradient in southern Mexico. As amphibians have narrow environmental tolerances and low dispersal capabilities, we expected that species sorting may be relatively more important than mass effect in structuring amphibian communities. Between 2010 and 2012, we sampled frogs, salamanders, and caecilians in 23 communities distributed in four successional stages: young (2–5 years old) and intermediate (13–28 years old) secondary forests, old‐growth forest fragments, and old‐growth continuous forest. We assessed 15 ecologically relevant functional traits per species and used a time‐calibrated molecular phylogeny. We recorded 1,672 individuals belonging to 30 species and 11 families. Supporting our expectations from the species sorting perspective, from the poorest (younger forests) to the best quality (continuous forest) scenarios, we observed (a) an increase in alpha diversity regardless of species abundances; (b) a clear taxonomic segregation across successional stages; (c) an increase in functional richness and dispersion; (d) an increase in mean phylogenetic distance and nearest taxon index; and (e) a reduction in mean nearest taxon distance. However, 10 species occurred in all successional stages, resulting in relatively low beta diversity. This supports a mass effect, where interpatch migrations contribute to prevent local extinctions and increase compositional similarity at the regional scale. Our findings indicate that amphibian metacommunities along forest successional gradients are mainly structured by species sorting, but mass effects may also play a role if high levels of forest cover are conserved in the region. In fact, secondary forests and forest fragments can potentially safeguard different aspects of amphibian diversity, but their long‐term conservation value requires preventing additional deforestation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Species sorting and mass effect along forest succession: Evidence from taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of amphibian communities

Hernández‐Ordóñez

Santos

Pyron

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…ant species observed attending EFN‐bearing plants). Plant and ant species with frequencies of less than five were excluded from the analysis to prevent bias introduced by rare species (Russildi, Arroyo‐Rodríguez, Hernández‐Ordóñez, Pineda, & Reynoso, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and rainfall on the specialization of ant–plant mutualistic networks in the Caatinga, a Brazilian dry forest

Câmara

Leal

Blüthgen

et al. 2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Anthropogenic disturbance and climate change might negatively affect the ecosystem services provided by mutualistic networks. However, the effects of such forces remain poorly characterized. They may be especially important in dry forests, which (1) experience chronic anthropogenic disturbances (CADs) as human populations exploit forest resources, and (2) are predicted to face a 22% decline in rainfall under climate change. In this study, we investigated the separate and combined effects of CADs and rainfall levels on the specialization of mutualistic networks in the Caatinga, a seasonally dry tropical forest typical of north-eastern Brazil. More specifically, we examined interactions between plants bearing extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and ants. We analysed whether differences in network specialization could arise from environmentally mediated variation in the species composition, namely via the replacement of specialist by generalist species. We characterized these ant-plant networks in 15 plots (20 × 20 m) that varied in CAD intensity and mean annual rainfall. We quantified CAD intensity by calculating three indices related to the main sources of disturbance in the Caatinga: livestock grazing (LG), wood extraction (WE) and miscellaneous resource use (MU). We determined the degree of ant-plant network specialization using four metrics: generality, vulnerability, interaction evenness and H '. Our results indicate that CADs differentially influenced network specialization: we observed positive, negative, and neutral responses along LG, MU and WE gradients, respectively. The pattern was most pronounced with LG. Rainfall also shaped network specialization, markedly increasing it. While LG and rainfall were associated with changes in network species composition, this trend was not related to the degree of species specialization. This result suggests that shifts in network specialization might be related to changes in species behaviour, not species composition. Our study highlights the vulnerability of such dry forest ant-plant networks to climate change. Moreover, dry forests experience highly heterogeneous anthropogenic disturbances, creating a geographic mosaic of selective forces that may shape the co-evolution of interactions between ants and EFN-bearing plants.

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“…Several attributes of human modified landscapes have been suggested to influence native biota including: landscape type (Kennedy et al 2011;Pedro & Simonetti 2015), contrast between the human modified land cover and habitat patches (Prevedello & Vieira 2010), size and configuration of landscape elements (Templeton, Brazeal & Neuwald 2011;Russildi et al 2016) and changes across time (Kupfer, Malanson & Franklin 2006;Driscoll et al 2013). Human modified landscapes can have a major influence on movement, influencing dispersal between habitat patches (Kupfer, Malanson & Franklin 2006;Kay et al 2016), mortality during dispersal (Ewers & Didham 2006), and tendency to depart patches and enter the matrix (Prevedello & Vieira 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remnant vegetation, plantings and fences are beneficial for reptiles in agricultural landscapes

Pulsford

Driscoll

Barton

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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1. Managing agricultural landscapes for biodiversity conservation is increasingly difficult as land use is modified or intensified for production. Finding ways to mitigate the negative effects of agriculture on biodiversity is therefore critical. We asked the question: How do remnant patches, paddock types and grazing regimes influence reptile assemblages in a grazing landscape? Accepted ArticleThis article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.2. At 12 sites, we surveyed reptiles and environmental covariates in remnant woodland patches and in four paddock types: a) grazed pasture, b) linear plantings, c) coarse woody debris added to grazed pasture and d) fences between grazed pasture. Each site was either continuously or rotationally grazed.3. Remnant vegetation and other vegetation attributes such as tree cover and leaf litter greatly influenced reptiles. We recorded higher reptile abundance and species richness in areas with more tree cover and leaf litter. For rare species (captured in ≤4 sites <70 captures) there were 5.7 more animals and 2.6 more species in sites with 50% woody cover within 3 km compared to 5% woody cover.4. The abundance and richness of rare species, and one common species differed between paddock types and were higher in linear plantings and fence transects compared to coarse woody debris and pasture transects. Synthesis and applications.Grazed paddocks, particularly those with key features such as fences and plantings can provide habitat for reptiles. This suggests that discrete differentiation between patch and matrix does not apply for reptiles in these systems.Management to promote reptile conservation in agricultural landscapes should involve protecting existing remnant vegetation, regardless of amount; and promote key habitat features of trees, leaf litter and shrubs. Establishing plantings and fences is important as they support high numbers of less common reptiles and may facilitate reptiles to move through and use greater amounts of the landscape.

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Species- and community-level responses to habitat spatial changes in fragmented rainforests: assessing compensatory dynamics in amphibians and reptiles

Cited by 58 publications

References 72 publications

Species sorting and mass effect along forest succession: Evidence from taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of amphibian communities

Species sorting and mass effect along forest succession: Evidence from taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of amphibian communities

Effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and rainfall on the specialization of ant–plant mutualistic networks in the Caatinga, a Brazilian dry forest

Remnant vegetation, plantings and fences are beneficial for reptiles in agricultural landscapes

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