Environmental parameters affecting the structure of leaf-litter frog (Amphibia: Anura) communities in tropical forests: a case study from an Atlantic Rainforest area in southeastern Brazil

Carla C Siqueira,Davor Vrcibradic,Helena G Bergallo,Paulo Nogueira-Costa,Carlos Frederico D Rocha,Vagner L R Gomes,Angele R Martins,Leonardo Dantas

doi:10.1590/s1984-46702014000200005

Abstract

Despite a recent increase of information on leaf litter frog communities from Atlantic rainforests, few studies have analyzed the relationship between environmental parameters and community structure of these animals. We analyzed the effects of some environmental factors on a leaf litter frog community at an Atlantic Rainforest area in southeastern Brazil. Data collection lasted ten consecutive days in January 2010, at elevations ranging between 300 and 520 m above sea level. We established 50 quadrats of 5 x 5 m on the forest floor, totaling 1,250 m2 of sampled area, and recorded the mean leaf-litter depth and the number of trees within the plot, as well as altitude. We found 307 individuals belonging to ten frog species within the plots. The overall density of leaf-litter frogs estimated from the plots was 24.6 ind/100m2, with Euparkerella brasiliensis (Parker, 1926), Ischnocnema guentheri (Steindachner, 1864), Ischnocnema parva (Girard, 1853) and Haddadus binotatus (Spix, 1824) presenting the highest estimated densities. Among the environmental variables analyzed, only altitude influenced the parameters of anuran community. Our results indicate that the study area has a very high density of forest floor leaf litter frogs at altitudes of 300-500 m. Future estimates of litter frog density might benefit from taking the local altitudinal variation into consideration. Neglecting such variation might result in underestimated/overestimated values if they are extrapolated to the whole area.

Highlights

Community ecology aims to understand the patterns of distribution, abundance and interactions among organisms (LEIBOLD et al 2004, KELLER et al 2009)
Despite a recent increase of information on leaf litter frog communities from Atlantic rainforests, few studies have analyzed the relationship between environmental parameters and community structure of these animals
We analyzed the effects of some environmental factors on a leaf litter frog community at an Atlantic Rainforest area in southeastern Brazil

Summary

Introduction

Community ecology aims to understand the patterns of distribution, abundance and interactions among organisms (LEIBOLD et al 2004, KELLER et al 2009). It is not always clear which factors are responsible for community structure, and whether species assemblies follow any general rules. Since the mid1990s, more information on leaf litter frog communities from Atlantic rainforest areas has become available (e.g., GIARETTA et al 1997, 1999, ROCHA et al 2000, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2013, VAN SLUYS et al 2007, ALMEIDA-GOMES et al 2008, SIQUEIRA et al 2009, SANTOS-PEREIRA et al 2011). Our aim was to investigate the factors explaining the local ecological parameters of tropical frog communities

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion