Abstract
Climate seasonality may differently influence habitat quality and heterogeneity depending on habitat type. We examined whether the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic composition of ground-dwelling anuran assemblages from grassland and forest habitats vary seasonally. We tested the hypothesis that the forest anuran assemblage varies less seasonally than the grassland assemblage. We monitored anurans using pitfall trap arrays in two areas, sampled across four seasons over a two-year period. For the functional composition, we acquired information on species morphology, reproduction, and habitat use to represent the anuran niche. For the phylogenetic composition, we used the most comprehensive anuran phylogeny. We used Principal Coordinate Analysis and Analysis of Variance to evaluate seasonal variations in assemblage composition along the study period. Our data revealed significant seasonal variation in the taxonomic and phylogenetic composition of anuran assemblages. Variation in taxonomic composition was higher in the grassland than in the forest assemblage, while variation in phylogenetic composition was higher in the spring-summer than in the autumn-winter seasons. We did not identify seasonal variation in functional composition. Seasonal variations in taxonomic and phylogenetic composition, but not in functional composition, indicate that the species with a fluctuating seasonal abundance have similar life-history traits, but belong to different lineages. Keywords: anuran traits, Brazilian highland grasslands, habitat variability, temporal beta diversity, temporal turnover.
Highlights
The study of anurans is intriguing because their sensitivity to water loss through their skin entails a physiological challenge for living under variant and extreme conditions
Biotic processes were previously considered to be the main factors influencing the diversity of anuran assemblages, climate seasonality has recently been recognized as a strong contributing factor (Both et al, 2008; Rievers et al, 2014)
We evaluated the seasonal variations in the composition of anuran assemblages from forest and grassland habitats, which are two habitats differently influenced by climate seasonality
Summary
The study of anurans is intriguing because their sensitivity to water loss through their skin entails a physiological challenge for living under variant and extreme conditions. Their evolution has resulted in a diversity of strategies for acquiring resources, reproducing, avoiding predation and competing in variant and extreme environments (Duellman and Trueb, 1994; Haddad and Prado, 2005; Silva et al, 2012). Biotic processes (e.g., competition and predation) were previously considered to be the main factors influencing the diversity of anuran assemblages, climate seasonality has recently been recognized as a strong contributing factor (Both et al, 2008; Rievers et al, 2014). We evaluated the seasonal variations in the composition of anuran assemblages from forest and grassland habitats, which are two habitats differently influenced by climate seasonality
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