Environmental heterogeneity: Anuran diversity in homogeneous environments

The northwestern region of São Paulo was extensively deforested during the agricultural expansion in the last century and only small fragments of the original vegetation cover remained. In this study, we investigated how habitat features influence the composition, richness, and diversity of anurans...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zoologia (Curitiba, Brazil) Brazil), 2011-10, Vol.28 (5), p.610-618
Main Authors: Silva, Rodrigo Augusto, Martins, Itamar Alves, Rossa-Feres, Denise de C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural expansion
Amphibia
Aquatic plants
beta diversity
Biodiversity
Cluster analysis
community ecology
Deforestation
Dry season
environmental indicators
habitat use
Heterogeneity
Pasture
Ponds
Species composition
Species richness
Vegetation
Vegetation cover
ZOOLOGY
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Summary:The northwestern region of São Paulo was extensively deforested during the agricultural expansion in the last century and only small fragments of the original vegetation cover remained. In this study, we investigated how habitat features influence the composition, richness, and diversity of anurans in environments homogenized by agricultural activities. We sampled monthly six breeding ponds located in pasture areas during twelve months. We recorded ten environmental descriptors for each breeding pond. We found 18 anuran species. The breeding ponds were structurally similar, but species composition differed among them. The environmental descriptors influence varies for each species, as demonstrated by the different associations between species and environmental descriptors shown in the Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). Seven of the ten environmental descriptors explained 67% of the species richness, showing that environmental characteristics influenced the occurrence of the different species. There is no such data set for the region and also for most Brazilian regions, despite its importance in guiding species-oriented conservation actions.
ISSN:1984-4689
1984-4670
1984-4689
DOI:10.1590/S1984-46702011000500009