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. 2019 Sep 12;9(19):11040-11052.
doi: 10.1002/ece3.5593. eCollection 2019 Oct.

Integrating alpha, beta, and phylogenetic diversity to understand anuran fauna along environmental gradients of tropical forests in western Ecuador

Luis Amador  1   2 , Mauricio Soto-Gamboa  3 , Juan M Guayasamin  4   5
Affiliations

Integrating alpha, beta, and phylogenetic diversity to understand anuran fauna along environmental gradients of tropical forests in western Ecuador

Luis Amador et al. Ecol Evol. .

Abstract

The study of current distribution patterns of amphibian species in South America is of particular interest in areas such as evolutionary ecology and conservation biology. These patterns could be playing an important role in biological interactions, population size, and connectivity, and potential extinction risk in amphibians. Here, we tested the effects of spatial and environmental factors on the variation, turnover, and phylogenetic diversity of anuran amphibian species in tropical forests of western Ecuador. Data for presence/absence of 101 species of 34 genera and 10 families registered in 12 sites (nested in four biogeographic units) were obtained through fieldwork, museum collections, and literature records. We examined the influence of geographical, altitudinal, temperature, and precipitation distances on differences in anuran composition between sites. We found significant positive correlations among all of these variables with anuran distribution. The greatest alpha diversity (species richness) was found in the Equatorial Chocó biogeographic unit. Equatorial Pacific biogeographic unit could act as a transition zone between the Equatorial Chocó and Equatorial Tumbes. The western Andes (Western Cordillera biogeographic unit) was the most dissimilar and exhibited a higher species turnover rate than the other biogeographic units. Our results suggest that precipitation and elevation play a key role in maintaining the diversity of amphibian species in western Ecuador.

Keywords: Andes; amphibia; phylogenetic structure; species richness; turnover; variation.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of Ecuador showing the study sites. 1 = Río Canandé, 2 = Bilsa‐Mache Chindul, 3 = Jama‐Coaque, 4 = Ayampe‐Machalilla, 5 = Chongón‐Colonche, 6 = Churute, 7 = Buenaventura, 8 = Achiotes‐El Faique, 9 = Cordillera Arañitas‐La Ceiba, 10 = Río Guajalito, 11 = Río Faisanes, 12 = Quebrada Zapadores. Approximate distribution of terrestrial South American ecoregions modified from Olson et al. (2010)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Boxplot showing species richness (SR) (a and b) and phylogenetic diversity (PD) (c and d) per biogeographic unit and forest type. Outliers are shown with black circles. Thick horizontal black lines indicate means
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distance–decay plot, the distance was measured in km between all pairs of sites (Spatial Euclidean distance) and plotted the calculated Jaccard index (Species composition dissimilarity)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlations tests between dissimilarity (Species composition variation) and environmental variables (a) elevation, (b) precipitation, (c) temperature
Figure 5
Figure 5
Scatterplots using a multiple regression model of environmental variables (precipitation, elevation, and temperature) values plotted against species richness values (SR, a–c) and phylogenetic diversity (PD, d–f)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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