Accessible habitat delineated by a highway predicts landscape-scale effects of habitat loss in an amphibian community

Abstract

Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation negatively affect amphibian populations. Roads impact amphibian species through barrier effects and traffic mortality. The landscape variable ‘accessible habitat’ considers the combined effects of habitat loss and roads on populations. The aim was to test whether accessible habitat was a better predictor of amphibian species richness than separate measures of road effects and habitat loss. I assessed how accessible habitat and local habitat variables determine species richness and community composition. Frog and tadpole surveys were conducted at 52 wetlands in a peri-urban area of eastern Australia. Accessible habitat was delineated using a highway. Regressions were used to examine relationships between species richness and eleven landscape and local habitat variables. Redundancy analysis was used to examine relationships between community composition and accessible habitat and local habitat variables. Best-ranked models of species richness included both landscape and local habitat variables. There were positive relationships between species richness and accessible habitat and distance to the highway, and uncertain relationships with proportion cover of native vegetation and road density. There were negative relationships between species richness and concreted wetlands and wetland electrical conductivity. Four species were positively associated with accessible habitat, whereas all species were negatively associated with wetland type. Barrier effects caused by the highway and habitat loss have negatively affected the amphibian community. Local habitat variables had strong relationships with species richness and community composition, highlighting the importance of both availability and quality of habitat for amphibian conservation near major roads.