Occurrence of anurans in brazilian caves

Brazil has the greatest diversity of anurans and also one of the greatest speleological patrimonies in the world. However, informations about anurans in Brazilian caves including different biomes and lithologies are scarce. This study sampled 223 caves divided into different biomes (Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado and transition area) and lithologies (Conglomerate, Granite, Iron-ore, Limestone, Marble, Quartzite, and Sandstone) distributed in eleven Brazilian states. To determine the anuran composition (presence/absence), a single sampling event was conducted in each cave by a team of three researchers in the period 1999−2011, following acoustic and visual search methods. We recorded 54 species distributed 18 genera and 11 families. The caves in the Amazon biome had the highest number of species, followed by caves present in the Cerrado, Caatinga, transition area (Atlantic Forest and Cerrado) and the Atlantic Forest. The caves in the Iron-ore lithology had the highest number of species, followed by the Limestone, Sandstone, Quartzite, Granite, Marble and Conglomerate caves. The anurans proved to be very diverse in Brazilian caves, with this high species richness related to the large amount of biomes and lithologies sampled. The family Leiuperidae had the highest richness and the species Scinax fuscovarius the highest frequency of occurrence in the caves. Also recorded were tadpoles and immature forms inside caves suggesting that not all the species are accidental, and that some species may be using these environments for shelter, protection, food and, even reproduction

First record of Hypsiboas geographicus (Spix, 1824) (Hylidae) and Physalaemus centralis Bokermann, 1962 (Leptodactylidae) for coastal ecosystems in the state of Maranhão, Brazil

This note reports the first record of Hypsiboas geographicus and Physalaemus centralis for coastal ecosystems “restinga environments” in the Maranhão state, Brazil. These records expand the geographic distribution of these species for restinga environments and contribute to the knowledge of anurofauna of Maranhão state

Altitude and temperature drive anuran community assembly in a Neotropical mountain region

Understanding the spatial variation in species richness and the mechanisms that limit species range sizes along geographical gradients belong to the central research issues in macroecology. Here, we aim to test the topographic and climatic effects on anuran species richness and community composition in mountainous regions in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome. We used Individual-Based Rarefaction Curve (interpolation and extrapolation), Generalized Additive Model (GAM), Midpoint method and Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) to analyze the topographic and climatic effects on anuran community composition, richness, and range sizes in a global biodiversity hotspot. Our results showed that altitude and annual mean temperature and temperature seasonality were the main drivers of species altitudinal range sizes and community assembly in mountainous regions. In conclusion, Anuran community richness peaked at intermediate altitudes following thus a hump-shaped pattern and corroborated the Rapoport's altitudinal rule as range sizes increased with altitude in mountainous regions from the Atlantic Forest biome. This study revealed new insights into the patterns and drivers of Neotropical anuran communities. Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.Peer reviewe

New records of anurans in the state of Maranhão, Brazil: Hypsiboas boans (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hylidae) and Leptodactylus syphax Bokermann, 1969 (Leptodactylidae)

We report two new records of anurans in the northeastern region of the state of Maranhão, Brazil. The records extend the distribution of Hypsiboas boans (Linnaeus, 1758) outside the Amazon basin, and represent the first record of Leptodactylus syphax Bokermann, 1969 for the state of Maranhão

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Estrutura da comunidade de anuros ao longo do gradiente altitudinal: o papel das variáveis topográficas e climáticas e suas implicações para a conservação

Montane ecosystems cover approximately 22 to 25% of land surface from sea level to more than 8,000 m a.s.l., harboring more than a third of the planet\'s biodiversity and includ half of global biodiversity hotspots. Among geographical gradients (latitudinal or altitudinal), the latitudinal species richness pattern is the most recognized and studied. Although not so intensively studied as latitudinal gradients, altitudinal gradients also provide great patterns of species richness distributions. Despite of the processes that driving the species richness patterns are still poorly understood, three main patterns have been reported along altitudinal gradients: 1) decreasing of species richness with increasing altitude, 2) increase in species richness with increased altitude, and 3) increasing species richness at intermediate altitudes (hump-shaped pattern), followed by a decreasing of species richness with increasing altitude. The hump-shaped pattern is considered the most common. A macroecological hypothesis that to explain species richness patterns along geographical gradients focusing in species range size is Rapoport\'s rule. This rule is a positive correlation between altitude and species range size distribution based on climate seasonality effects. Rapoport\'s rule prediz that species that can withstand broad climatic variability can become more widely distributed along geographical gradients. However, this hypothesis still has presented controversial results and this controversial results increased our interest in testing Rapoport\'s altitudinal rule in Atlantic Forest mountain ecosystems biome. However, patterns and process that drivres community assembly along altitudinal gradients have received little attention and remain controversial. Based on the anuran community strutucture variation (richness, composition and abundance) along altitudinal gradients, the present work aims to understand and disentangle the topographic and climatic effects on spatial patterns distribution and species altitudinal range size in the Atlantic Forest highlands, which will highlight how topographic and climate conditions acting in communities\' assembly along altitudinal gradients subside important rules to biodiversity conservation.Os ecossistemas montanhosos cobrem aproximadamente 22 a 25% da superfície terrestre desde o nível do mar até mais de 8.000 m, abrigam mais de um terço da biodiversidade do planeta incluindo metade dos hotspots globais de biodiversidade. Entre os gradientes geográficos (latitudinais ou altitudinais), o padrão latitudinal de riqueza de espécies é o mais reconhecido e estudado. Embora não tão intensamente estudados como os gradientes latitudinais, os gradientes altitudinais também fornecem ótimos padrões de distribuição de riqueza de espécies. Apesar dos processos que impulsionam os padrões de riqueza de espécies ainda serem pouco compreendidos, três principais padrões tem sido relatados ao longo dos gradientes altitudinais: 1) decréscimo da riqueza de espécies com o aumento da altitude; 2) aumento da riqueza de espécies com o aumento da altitude and 3) aumento da riqueza de espécies em altitudes intermediárias (unimodal padrão), seguido por uma diminuição da riqueza de espécies com o aumento da altitude. O unimodal padrão é considerado o mais comum. Uma hipótese macroecológica que explica os padrões de riqueza de espécies ao longo de gradientes geográficos com foco no tamanho das faixas altitudinais das espécies é Rapoport regra. Esta prediz uma correlação positiva entre a altitude e a distribuição do tamanho das faixas altitudinais das espécies com base nos efeitos da sazonalidade climática. Rapoport regra prediz que as espécies que podem suportar um ampla variabilidade climática podem se tornar mais amplamente distribuídas ao longo dos gradientes geográficos. No entanto, essa hipótese ainda apresenta resultados controversos o que aumentaram nosso interesse em testar a Rapoport altitudinal regra em ecossistemas montanhosos na Mata Atlântica. Entretanto, os padrões e os processos que conduzem a montagem da comunidade ao longo dos gradientes altitudinais receberam pouca atenção e ainda permanecem controversos. Com base na variação da estrutura da comunidade de anuros (riqueza, composição e abundância) ao longo dos gradientes altitudinais, o presente estudo teve como objetivo compreender e desemaranhar os efeitos topográficos e climáticos nos padrões de distribuição espacial e tamanho das faixas altitudinais das espécies em ecossitemas montanhosos na Mata Atlântica, o qual realçará como as condições topográficas e climáticas atuam na montagem de comunidades ao longo de gradientes de altitude subsidiando importantes regras para a conservação da biodiversidade

Estrutura da comunidade de anuros ao longo do gradiente altitudinal: o papel das variáveis topográficas e climáticas e suas implicações para a conservação

Montane ecosystems cover approximately 22 to 25% of land surface from sea level to more than 8,000 m a.s.l., harboring more than a third of the planet\'s biodiversity and includ half of global biodiversity hotspots. Among geographical gradients (latitudinal or altitudinal), the latitudinal species richness pattern is the most recognized and studied. Although not so intensively studied as latitudinal gradients, altitudinal gradients also provide great patterns of species richness distributions. Despite of the processes that driving the species richness patterns are still poorly understood, three main patterns have been reported along altitudinal gradients: 1) decreasing of species richness with increasing altitude, 2) increase in species richness with increased altitude, and 3) increasing species richness at intermediate altitudes (hump-shaped pattern), followed by a decreasing of species richness with increasing altitude. The hump-shaped pattern is considered the most common. A macroecological hypothesis that to explain species richness patterns along geographical gradients focusing in species range size is Rapoport\'s rule. This rule is a positive correlation between altitude and species range size distribution based on climate seasonality effects. Rapoport\'s rule prediz that species that can withstand broad climatic variability can become more widely distributed along geographical gradients. However, this hypothesis still has presented controversial results and this controversial results increased our interest in testing Rapoport\'s altitudinal rule in Atlantic Forest mountain ecosystems biome. However, patterns and process that drivres community assembly along altitudinal gradients have received little attention and remain controversial. Based on the anuran community strutucture variation (richness, composition and abundance) along altitudinal gradients, the present work aims to understand and disentangle the topographic and climatic effects on spatial patterns distribution and species altitudinal range size in the Atlantic Forest highlands, which will highlight how topographic and climate conditions acting in communities\' assembly along altitudinal gradients subside important rules to biodiversity conservation.Os ecossistemas montanhosos cobrem aproximadamente 22 a 25% da superfície terrestre desde o nível do mar até mais de 8.000 m, abrigam mais de um terço da biodiversidade do planeta incluindo metade dos hotspots globais de biodiversidade. Entre os gradientes geográficos (latitudinais ou altitudinais), o padrão latitudinal de riqueza de espécies é o mais reconhecido e estudado. Embora não tão intensamente estudados como os gradientes latitudinais, os gradientes altitudinais também fornecem ótimos padrões de distribuição de riqueza de espécies. Apesar dos processos que impulsionam os padrões de riqueza de espécies ainda serem pouco compreendidos, três principais padrões tem sido relatados ao longo dos gradientes altitudinais: 1) decréscimo da riqueza de espécies com o aumento da altitude; 2) aumento da riqueza de espécies com o aumento da altitude and 3) aumento da riqueza de espécies em altitudes intermediárias (unimodal padrão), seguido por uma diminuição da riqueza de espécies com o aumento da altitude. O unimodal padrão é considerado o mais comum. Uma hipótese macroecológica que explica os padrões de riqueza de espécies ao longo de gradientes geográficos com foco no tamanho das faixas altitudinais das espécies é Rapoport regra. Esta prediz uma correlação positiva entre a altitude e a distribuição do tamanho das faixas altitudinais das espécies com base nos efeitos da sazonalidade climática. Rapoport regra prediz que as espécies que podem suportar um ampla variabilidade climática podem se tornar mais amplamente distribuídas ao longo dos gradientes geográficos. No entanto, essa hipótese ainda apresenta resultados controversos o que aumentaram nosso interesse em testar a Rapoport altitudinal regra em ecossistemas montanhosos na Mata Atlântica. Entretanto, os padrões e os processos que conduzem a montagem da comunidade ao longo dos gradientes altitudinais receberam pouca atenção e ainda permanecem controversos. Com base na variação da estrutura da comunidade de anuros (riqueza, composição e abundância) ao longo dos gradientes altitudinais, o presente estudo teve como objetivo compreender e desemaranhar os efeitos topográficos e climáticos nos padrões de distribuição espacial e tamanho das faixas altitudinais das espécies em ecossitemas montanhosos na Mata Atlântica, o qual realçará como as condições topográficas e climáticas atuam na montagem de comunidades ao longo de gradientes de altitude subsidiando importantes regras para a conservação da biodiversidade