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Jordaan PR, Measey J, Hanekom CC, Combrink X. Reassessing fossorial herpetofaunal density in sand forest following declines of mesoherbivore populations. Afr J Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.13129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Philip R. Jordaan
- Department Nature Conservation Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria South Africa
| | - John Measey
- Department of Botany & Zoology, Centre for Invasion Biology Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa
| | | | - Xander Combrink
- Department Nature Conservation Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria South Africa
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Habitat-dependent effects of predatory spiders on prey frogs in a Neotropical wet forest. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467421000274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIn seasonal wet Neotropical forests, many studies have suggested that species-rich terrestrial frog assemblages are regulated bottom-up by the abundance of leaf litter. However, terrestrial frogs are prey to a diverse community of predators, and no studies have tested for top-down effects of predators on this or other anuran assemblages. Here, we used an extensive field dataset to model the relative contribution of food resources, microhabitat resources and predators towards the occupancy and detection of two frog species (Craugastor bransfordii and Oophaga pumilio) at La Selva, Costa Rica. Frog occupancy was most strongly influenced by predatory spiders and secondarily influenced by the abundance of leaf litter. Predators exerted stronger effects on frogs than food resources, and frogs avoided predators more as leaf litter decreased. Detection probability was elevated when predators were present. We found support for bottom-up effects of leaf litter on the terrestrial frog assemblage, but top-down effects by predators exerted stronger effects on frog occupancy and detection. Because predator avoidance varied along a resource gradient, predator and resource effects appear to be dependent, supporting interactions between top-down and bottom-up mechanisms. Climate-driven decreases in leaf litter may drive decreased availability of frog refugia and increased interactions between frogs and predators.
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Rivera-Burgos AC, Collazo JA, Terando AJ, Pacifici K. Linking demographic rates to local environmental conditions: Empirical data to support climate adaptation strategies for Eleutherodactylus frogs. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
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Simón-Salvador PR, Arreortúa M, Flores CA, Santiago-Dionicio H, González-Bernal E. The role of Indigenous and Community Conservation Areas in herpetofauna conservation: a preliminary list for Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Oaxaca Mexico. Zookeys 2021; 1029:185-208. [PMID: 33935556 PMCID: PMC8050035 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1029.62205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The montane cloud forests of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca (SMO) host a remarkable herpetofauna diversity and represent one of the most important areas of endemism for Mexico and Mesoamerica. Although the area has been previously studied, most of the extant records for this group are biased to locations accessed by paved roads. In addition, an important proportion of this territory is conserved by Indigenous and Community Conservation Areas (ICCA), but little information of the species occurring within these areas exists. Therefore, information on the distribution of many endemic taxa in this region to date is either underestimated or incomplete. With the aim of increasing the ecological and distributional knowledge of this group in remote areas, we carried out field surveys in Santa Cruz Tepetotutla Oaxaca, a locality 25 km in a straight line to the closest paved road that conserves 9,670 ha of land through the ICCAs modality. Surveys were made during 2018 and 2019, including both dry and wet seasons. A total of 40 species of amphibians and reptiles were recorded: 32.5% of these records represent distributional range extensions, while 20% represent altitudinal range extensions. A total of 17.5% are records of species under a high risk category, highlighting both the relevance of studying remote areas to increase species population knowledge and the role of community conservation actions for species persistence. Finally, our records include the rediscovery of Rhadinella schistosa, a species undetected for more than 50 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Rogelio Simón-Salvador
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca. Laboratorio de Ecología de Anfibios (ECA). Hornos 1003, Col. Noche Buena, 71230, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca, MéxicoInstituto Politécnico NacionalOaxacaMexico
| | - Medardo Arreortúa
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca. Laboratorio de Ecología de Anfibios (ECA). Hornos 1003, Col. Noche Buena, 71230, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca, MéxicoInstituto Politécnico NacionalOaxacaMexico
| | - Carlos A. Flores
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca. Laboratorio de Ecología de Anfibios (ECA). Hornos 1003, Col. Noche Buena, 71230, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca, MéxicoInstituto Politécnico NacionalOaxacaMexico
| | - Hermes Santiago-Dionicio
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca. Laboratorio de Ecología de Anfibios (ECA). Hornos 1003, Col. Noche Buena, 71230, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca, MéxicoInstituto Politécnico NacionalOaxacaMexico
| | - Edna González-Bernal
- CONACYT – Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca. Laboratorio de Ecología de Anfibios (ECA). Hornos 1003, Col. Noche Buena, 71230, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca, MéxicoInstituto Politécnico NacionalOaxacaMexico
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Vera Alvarez MD, Fernandez C, Cove MV. Assessing the role of habitat and species interactions in the population decline and detection bias of Neotropical leaf litter frogs in and around La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. NEOTROPICAL BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 2019. [DOI: 10.3897/neotropical.14.e37526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Worldwide, amphibian populations have been declining rapidly. This decline can be attributed to many factors including climate change, pesticide exposure, and emerging infectious diseases, among other important factors, but few studies have examined the influence of species interactions. In this study, we examined how habitat factors and co-occurring avian and mammalian species, as well as humans, exert direct and indirect effects on Neotropical amphibian population dynamics. We further examined how these habitat and species interactions could affect our ability to reliably detect amphibian presence to robustly estimate population trends. We conducted amphibian visual encounter surveys at 26 randomly selected sites in the La Selva Biological Station, in northeastern Costa Rica, as well as 26 sites across five additional forest fragments in the region. Furthermore, we used camera traps to collect data on avian and mammalian communities and human visitation at those amphibian survey plots. From these data, we were able to estimate species occupancy probabilities for leaf litter frogs across sites and their relationships to habitat and interspecific species interaction covariates. We also conducted an experiment with plastic model frogs to estimate detection probabilities when a population is known to occur at a site with certainty. Our results suggested that strawberry poison dart frog (Oophagapumilio) occupancy was positively related to secondary forest and their detection was negatively related to increasing air temperatures at the times of the surveys. Leaf litter frog occupancy was negatively related to core La Selva sites and human detections at sites, yet their detection was positively related to human trail presence, which might be related to reduced leaf litter cover due to heavy trampling. Our experimental surveys suggested that Neotropical leaf litter frog communities are difficult to detect when present and future studies should explicitly account for this detection bias to effectively monitor population trends.
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Thompson ME, Halstead BJ, Donnelly MA. Thermal quality influences habitat use of two anole species. J Therm Biol 2018; 75:54-61. [PMID: 30017052 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Revised: 05/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/27/2018] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Regeneration of secondary forests on previously deforested or degraded land is one of the most dominant forms of land-use change in the tropics. However, the response of animal communities to forest regeneration is poorly understood. To evaluate support for thermal quality as a mechanism driving reptile species distributions during secondary forest succession, we measured operative temperatures and occupancy in three successional forest stages (pasture, secondary forest, and old growth forest) for two anole species common in the landscape (Norops humilis and Norops limifrons). We then measured thermal preference in laboratory experiments and used operative temperature and temperature preference measurements to determine how thermal quality of habitat changes over the course of secondary forest succession, and if occupancy varies as a function of thermal quality. We found that thermal quality was lowest in pasture habitat because of a large frequency of temperatures above the thermal preference range. However, in low thermal quality pasture sites, riparian habitats and remnant trees provided a thermal refuge for both lizard species. Our results support thermal quality as a mechanism for reptile species distributions in altered landscapes and highlight the importance of the maintenance of riparian corridors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle E Thompson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
| | - Brian J Halstead
- US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, Dixon, CA 95620, USA
| | - Maureen A Donnelly
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
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Thompson ME, Donnelly MA. Effects of Secondary Forest Succession on Amphibians and Reptiles: A Review and Meta-analysis. COPEIA 2018. [DOI: 10.1643/ch-17-654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Monroe KD, Collazo JA, Pacifici K, Reich BJ, Puente-Rolón AR, Terando AJ. Occupancy and Abundance of Eleutherodactylus Frogs in Coffee Plantations in Puerto Rico. HERPETOLOGICA 2017. [DOI: 10.1655/herpetologica-d-16-00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kelen D. Monroe
- North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Jaime A. Collazo
- US Geological Survey, North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Krishna Pacifici
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Brian J. Reich
- Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | | | - Adam J. Terando
- US Geological Survey, Southeast Climate Science Center, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
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Nowakowski AJ, Watling JI, Whitfield SM, Todd BD, Kurz DJ, Donnelly MA. Tropical amphibians in shifting thermal landscapes under land-use and climate change. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2017; 31:96-105. [PMID: 27254115 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 05/29/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Land-cover and climate change are both expected to alter species distributions and contribute to future biodiversity loss. However, the combined effects of land-cover and climate change on assemblages, especially at the landscape scale, remain understudied. Lowland tropical amphibians may be particularly susceptible to changes in land cover and climate warming because many species have narrow thermal safety margins resulting from air and body temperatures that are close to their critical thermal maxima (CTmax ). We examined how changing thermal landscapes may alter the area of thermally suitable habitat (TSH) for tropical amphibians. We measured microclimates in 6 land-cover types and CTmax of 16 frog species in lowland northeastern Costa Rica. We used a biophysical model to estimate core body temperatures of frogs exposed to habitat-specific microclimates while accounting for evaporative cooling and behavior. Thermally suitable habitat area was estimated as the portion of the landscape where species CTmax exceeded their habitat-specific maximum body temperatures. We projected changes in TSH area 80 years into the future as a function of land-cover change only, climate change only, and combinations of land-cover and climate-change scenarios representing low and moderate rates of change. Projected decreases in TSH area ranged from 16% under low emissions and reduced forest loss to 30% under moderate emissions and business-as-usual land-cover change. Under a moderate emissions scenario (A1B), climate change alone contributed to 1.7- to 4.5-fold greater losses in TSH area than land-cover change only, suggesting that future decreases in TSH from climate change may outpace structural habitat loss. Forest-restricted species had lower mean CTmax than species that occurred in altered habitats, indicating that thermal tolerances will likely shape assemblages in changing thermal landscapes. In the face of ongoing land-cover and climate change, it will be critical to consider changing thermal landscapes in strategies to conserve ectotherm species.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Justin Nowakowski
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, U.S.A
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, U.S.A
| | - James I Watling
- Department of Biology, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH, 44118, U.S.A
| | - Steven M Whitfield
- Conservation and Research Department, Zoo Miami, Miami, FL, 33177, U.S.A
| | - Brian D Todd
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, U.S.A
| | - David J Kurz
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, U.S.A
| | - Maureen A Donnelly
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, U.S.A
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Whitfield SM, Lips KR, Donnelly MA. Amphibian Decline and Conservation in Central America. COPEIA 2016. [DOI: 10.1643/ch-15-300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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