Amphibians on Amazonian Land‐Bridge Islands are Affected More by Area Than Isolation

• Published in: Biotropica 2015-05, Vol.47 (3), p.369-376
• Main Authors: Lima, Janaína R, Galatti, Ulisses, Lima, Crisalda J, Fáveri, Sarita B, Vasconcelos, Heraldo L, Neckel‐Oliveira, Selvino
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amphibia; Anura; basins; breeding sites; forest fragmentation; forests; frogs; islands; landscapes; matrix habitat; microhabitats; reproductive mode; reproductive sites; rivers; species-area relationship; Tropical Biology
• ISSN: 0006-3606; 1744-7429
• DOI: 10.1111/btp.12205

River damming has created fragmented landscapes in parts of the Amazon basin. The resulting decrease in forest area could directly affect amphibian species if large areas of habitat are required to guarantee the presence of specific types of breeding sites. Here, we describe the anuran assemblages on islands created by damming of the Tocantins River twenty years ago in the eastern Amazon basin. We surveyed 10 undisturbed islands varying in size from 3 to 2140 ha and located at distances of up to 6.7 km from the margin of the reservoir. We identified 32 frog species, of which 15, 14, and 3 have aquatic, semiaquatic, and terrestrial development, respectively. The number of frog species increased significantly with island area but was not affected by island distance from the margin. Species with aquatic or semiaquatic development tended to be absent from the smaller islands, regardless of the degree of isolation from the mainland. These findings emphasize the need to preserve specific microhabitats on smaller land‐bridge islands to maintain amphibian diversity in reservoir environments.