Effects of Amazonian Flying Rivers on Frog Biodiversity and Populations in the Atlantic Rainforest

• Published in: Conservation biology 2023-06, Vol.37 (3), p.e14033-n/a
• Main Authors: Ferrante, Lucas, Getirana, Augusto, Baccaro, Fabricio Beggiato, Schöngart, Jochen, Leonel, Ana Cristina Monteiro, Gaiga, Renato, Garey, Michel Varajão, Fearnside, Philip Martin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amphibians; Anomalies; anurans; anuros; Biodiversity; Biodiversity hot spots; biogeografía; biogeography; cambio climático; Climate; Climate change; conservación; conservation; Deforestation; dinámicas poblacionales; Ecosystem services; Endangered & extinct species; Endemism; environmental pressures; Flight; Forests; Frogs; Global warming; hipótesis de la Reina Roja; Hot spots; Hylodes; Life Sciences (General); macroevolución; macroevolution; Microclimate; Morphology; natural selection; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Population decline; Population dynamics; Populations; presión ambiental; Rainfall; Rainforests; Red Queen theory; Rivers; selección natural; servicios ambientales; Speciation; Species extinction; teleconexión; teleconnection; Teleconnections; Temperature anomalies; Water vapor; Water vapour; Winds; 保护; 宏演化; 无尾目动物; 气候变化; 环境压力; 生态系统服务; 生物地理学; 种群动态; 红皇后理论; 自然选择; 遥相关
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14033

Given the speed at which humans are changing the climate, species with high degrees of endemism may not have time to avoid extinction through adaptation. We investigated through teleconnection analysis the origin of rainfall that determines the phylogenetic diversity of rainforest frogs and the effects of microclimate differences in shaping the morphological traits of isolated populations (which contribute to greater phylogenetic diversity and speciation). We also investigated through teleconnection analysis how deforestation in Amazonia can affect ecosystem services that are fundamental to maintaining the climate of the Atlantic rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Seasonal winds known as flying rivers carry water vapor from Amazonia to the Atlantic Forest, and the breaking of this ecosystem service could lead Atlantic Forest species to population decline and extinction in the short term. Our results suggest that the selection of morphological traits that shape Atlantic Forest frog diversity and their population dynamics are influenced by the Amazonian flying rivers. Our results also suggest that the increases of temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean due to global warming and in the Amazon forest due to deforestation are already breaking this cycle and threaten the biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest hotspot.