Global effects of forest modification on herpetofauna communities.

Abstract

As the area covered by human-modified environments grows, it is increasingly important to understand the responses of communities to the novel habitats created, especially for sensitive and threatened taxa. We aimed to improve understanding of the major evolutionary and ecological processes that shape the assemblage of amphibian and reptile communities to forest modifications. To this end, we compiled a global data set of amphibian and reptile surveys in natural, disturbed (burned, logged), and transformed (monocultures, polyspecific plantations) forest communities to assess the richness, phylogenetic diversity, and composition of those communities, as well as the morphological disparity among taxa between natural and modified forest habitats. Forest transformations led to a diversity reduction of 15.46% relative to the statistically nonsignificant effect of disturbances. Transformations also led to a community composition that was 39.4% dissimilar to that on natural forests, compared with 16.1% difference in disturbances. Modifications did not affect the morphological disparity of communities (p=0.167 and 0.744), and we found little evidence of taxon-specific responses to anthropic impacts. Monocultures and polyspecific plantations detrimentally affected the conservation and ecological value of both amphibian and reptile communities and altered the evolutionary processes shaping these communities, whereas forests with lower impact disturbances might, to some extent, serve as reservoirs of species. Although different mechanisms might buffer the collapse of herpetological communities, preserving remaining natural forests is necessary for conserving communities in the face of future anthropic pressures.