Dataset Information

Local-scale Seasonality Shapes Anuran Community Abundance in a Cloud Forest of the Tropical Andes.

ABSTRACT: Analysing how seasonality shapes abundance patterns fosters understanding of the processes related to amphibian community assemblies. In this study we analyse the relationship between local seasonal patterns of abundance within the anuran community of the Monte Zerpa Cloud Forest, Mérida Mountain Range (Cordillera de Mérida), in the Venezuelan Andes. We hypothesized that variation in precipitation, temperature, and relative humidity affects the temporal abundance patterns of anurans. Data collection was performed through nocturnal biweekly inspections from 2002 to 2003. Air temperature, relative humidity, and monthly precipitation were considered as variables of climatic seasonality. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the effect of climatic variables on anuran abundance across seasons. Overall, 542 individuals and four anuran species were recorded in stream tributaries only. The local anuran community was comprised of Hyalinobatrachium duranti, Hyloscirtus platydactylus, Hyloscirtus jahni, and Pristimantis vanadisae. The most abundant species were H. duranti (288 individuals) and H. platydactylus (145 individuals), representing 53% and 27% of the total anuran abundance, respectively. Differences in abundance between species were observed. Although the total abundance of anurans was higher during the low precipitation season, no significant differences between the two seasons were detected. The variation in anuran abundance was explained by relative humidity and temperature. Our results suggest that the highest abundance of anurans can be expected when temperatures reach favourable levels (15- 17°C), relative humidity increases, and precipitation remains constant.

SUBMITTER: Villa PM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6875685 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Local-scale Seasonality Shapes Anuran Community Abundance in a Cloud Forest of the Tropical Andes.

Villa Pedro M PM Pérez-Sánchez Antonio J AJ Nava Francisco F Acevedo Aldemar A Cadenas Diego A DA

Zoological studies 20190717

Analysing how seasonality shapes abundance patterns fosters understanding of the processes related to amphibian community assemblies. In this study we analyse the relationship between local seasonal patterns of abundance within the anuran community of the Monte Zerpa Cloud Forest, Mérida Mountain Range (Cordillera de Mérida), in the Venezuelan Andes. We hypothesized that variation in precipitation, temperature, and relative humidity affects the temporal abundance patterns of anurans. Data collec ...[more]

PMID: 31966318

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Project description:BackgroundLand use is a major factor determining stream water physicochemistry. However, most streams move from one land use type to another as they drain their watersheds. Here, we studied three land use scenarios in a tropical cloud forest zone in Mexico. We addressed three main goals, to: (1) assess how land use scenarios generate different patterns in stream physicochemical characteristics; (2) explore how seasonality (i.e., dry, dry-to-wet transition, and wet seasons) might result in changes to those patterns over the year; and (3) explore whether physicochemical patterns in different scenarios resulted in effects on biotic components (e.g., algal biomass).MethodsWe studied Tropical Mountain Cloud Forest streams in La Antigua watershed, Mexico. Streams drained different three scenarios, streams with (1) an upstream section draining forest followed by a pasture section (F-P), (2) an upstream section in pasture followed by a forest section (P-F), and (3) an upstream forest section followed by coffee plantation (F-C). Physicochemistry was determined at the upstream and downstream sections, and at the boundary between land uses. Measurements were seasonal, including temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and pH. Water was analyzed for suspended solids, alkalinity, silica, chloride, sulfate, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. Nutrients included ammonium, nitrate, and phosphorus. We measured benthic and suspended organic matter and chlorophyll.ResultsStreams presented strong seasonality, with the highest discharge and suspended solids during the wet season. Scenarios and streams within each scenario had distinct physicochemical signatures. All three streams within each scenario clustered together in ordination space and remained close to each other during all seasons. There were significant scenario-season interactions on conductivity (F = 9.5, P < 0.001), discharge (F = 56.7, P < 0.001), pH (F = 4.5, P = 0.011), Cl- (F = 12.2, P < 0.001), SO42- (F = 8.8, P < 0.001) and NH4+ (F = 5.4, P = 0.005). Patterns within individual scenarios were associated with stream identity instead of land use. Both P-F and F-C scenarios had significantly different physicochemical patterns from those in F-P in all seasons (Procrustes analysis, m12 = 0.05-0.25; R = 0.86-0.97; P < 0.05). Chlorophyll was significantly different among scenarios and seasons (F = 5.36, P = 0.015, F = 3.81, P = 0.42, respectively). Concentrations were related to physicochemical variables more strongly during the transition season.ConclusionOverall, land use scenarios resulted in distinctive water physicochemical signatures highlighting the complex effects that anthropogenic activities have on tropical cloud forest streams. Studies assessing the effect of land use on tropical streams will benefit from assessing scenarios, rather than focusing on individual land use types. We also found evidence of the importance that forest fragments play in maintaining or restoring stream water physicochemistry.

Project description:We examined tree-soil habitat associations in lowland forest communities at Paracou, French Guiana. We analyzed a large dataset assembling six permanent plots totaling 37.5 ha, in which extensive LIDAR-derived topographical data and soil chemical and physical data have been integrated with precise botanical determinations. Map of relative elevation from the nearest stream summarized both soil fertility and hydromorphic characteristics, with seasonally inundated bottomlands having higher soil phosphate content and base saturation, and plateaus having higher soil carbon, nitrogen and aluminum contents. We employed a statistical test of correlations between tree species density and environmental maps, by generating Monte Carlo simulations of random raster images that preserve autocorrelation of the original maps. Nearly three fourths of the 94 taxa with at least one stem per ha showed a significant correlation between tree density and relative elevation, revealing contrasted species-habitat associations in term of abundance, with seasonally inundated bottomlands (24.5% of species) and well-drained plateaus (48.9% of species). We also observed species preferences for environments with or without steep slopes (13.8% and 10.6%, respectively). We observed that closely-related species were frequently associated with different soil habitats in this region (70% of the 14 genera with congeneric species that have a significant association test) suggesting species-habitat associations have arisen multiple times in this tree community. We also tested if species with similar habitat preferences shared functional strategies. We found that seasonally inundated forest specialists tended to have smaller stature (maximum diameter) than species found on plateaus. Our results underline the importance of tree-soil habitat associations in structuring diverse communities at fine spatial scales and suggest that additional studies are needed to disentangle community assembly mechanisms related to dispersal limitation, biotic interactions and environmental filtering from species-habitat associations. Moreover, they provide a framework to generalize across tropical forest sites.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Local plant-soil associations are commonly studied at the species-level, while associations at the level of nodes within a phylogeny have been less well explored. Understanding associations within a phylogenetic context, however, can improve our ability to make predictions across systems and can advance our understanding of the role of evolutionary history in structuring communities. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we quantified evolutionary signal in plant-soil associations using a DNA sequence-based community phylogeny and several soil variables (e.g., extractable phosphorus, aluminum and manganese, pH, and slope as a proxy for soil water). We used published plant distributional data from the 50-ha plot on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Republic of Panamá. Our results suggest some groups of closely related species do share similar soil associations. Most notably, the node shared by Myrtaceae and Vochysiaceae was associated with high levels of aluminum, a potentially toxic element. The node shared by Apocynaceae was associated with high extractable phosphorus, a nutrient that could be limiting on a taxon specific level. The node shared by the large group of Laurales and Magnoliales was associated with both low extractable phosphorus and with steeper slope. Despite significant node-specific associations, this study detected little to no phylogeny-wide signal. We consider the majority of the 'traits' (i.e., soil variables) evaluated to fall within the category of ecological traits. We suggest that, given this category of traits, phylogeny-wide signal might not be expected while node-specific signals can still indicate phylogenetic structure with respect to the variable of interest. CONCLUSIONS: Within the BCI forest dynamics plot, distributions of some plant taxa are associated with local-scale differences in soil variables when evaluated at individual nodes within the phylogenetic tree, but they are not detectable by phylogeny-wide signal. Trends highlighted in this analysis suggest how plant-soil associations may drive plant distributions and diversity at the local-scale.

Dataset Information

Local-scale Seasonality Shapes Anuran Community Abundance in a Cloud Forest of the Tropical Andes.

Publications

Local-scale Seasonality Shapes Anuran Community Abundance in a Cloud Forest of the Tropical Andes.

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