Data from: Spatial variation in anuran richness, diversity, and abundance across montane wetland habitat in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

The spatial distribution of species has long sparked interest among ecologists and biogeographers, increasingly so in studies of species responses to climate change. However, field studies on spatial patterns of distribution, useful to inform conservation actions at local scales, are still lacking for many regions, especially the tropics. We studied elevational trends and species‐area relationships among anurans in wetland habitats within Volcanoes National Park (VNP) in Rwanda, part of the biodiverse Albertine Rift region. In VNP, wetlands are key sites for anuran reproduction, and anurans are likely threatened by wetland desiccation which has occurred for the last few decades. Between 2012 and 2017, we sampled anuran communities in ten VNP wetlands located along an elevational gradient of c. 600 m (from 2,546 to 3,188 m a.s.l.) and found at least eight species, including at least two Albertine Rift Endemics. We show that species richness, diversity, and abundance likely decline with a decrease in wetland size and with an increase in elevation, though additional sampling (e.g., at night) might be needed to derive definite conclusions. Larger wetlands at lower elevations contained most species and individuals, which indicates the potential threat of wetland size reduction (through desiccation) for anuran conservation. However, we also found that wetlands differed in species composition and that some species (e.g., Sclerophrys kisoloensis) were likely restricted in distribution to only a few of the smaller wetlands—suggesting that the conservation of each individual wetland should be prioritized, regardless of size. We propose that all wetlands in VNP require additional conservation measures, which should be based on knowledge gathered through long‐term monitoring of anuran communities and research on drivers of wetland decline. Only such extended research will allow us to understand the response of anurans in VNP to threats such as climate change and wetland desiccation

Differential success in sampling of Atlantic Forest amphibians among different periods of the day

In general, anurans tend to be nocturnal, though diurnal activity is characteristic of some groups. Studies show that frog activity may be inferred based on the number of individuals collected at different periods of the day, during large-scale field surveys. We investigated the best period of the day to conduct amphibian sampling in nine Atlantic Rainforest areas in southeastern Brazil, based on intensive field surveys. At each locality we employed similar sampling effort during diurnal, crepuscular and nocturnal searches (totaling 704.5 sampling hours). We pooled data from all localities for each period and estimated the proportion of frogs of each species active at each period based on the total number of individuals and on the number of species found during all surveys for that period. We recorded a total of 817 individual frogs from 69 species. Species richness was highest at night (median = 12 species), intermediate at dusk (median = 8), and lowest during the day (median = 4). The percentage of the total number of individual frogs found (pooled species) was highest during the night (ca. 53%) and lowest during the day (ca. 14%). Analyzing each species separately, the number of individuals recorded was consistently higher at dusk and night for most species. Our study evidences a trend for nocturnal activity for most Atlantic Rainforest frogs, with few species having primarily diurnal habits. Those results may favor future studies and conservation efforts for amphibian species

Anurofauna of an Atlantic Rainforest fragment and its surroundings in Northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

We carried out a study on the anurofaunal community from an Atlantic Forest fragment (Monte Verde mountains) and the surrounding area in Cambuci municipality, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, which constitutes one of the largest fragments remaining in the largely deforested landscape of the northern portion of the State. We combined three sampling methods: plot sampling, transects and pit-fall traps. We recorded twenty species of amphibians, of which only eleven were found within the forest fragment (and five of these also occurred in the surrounding matrix). Two of the species recorded in the present study (Crossodactylus sp. and Ischnocnema cf. parva) may represent undescribed taxa. Our records expand the distribution range of one species (Scinax trapicheiroi) to the north, and fill a geographic distribution gap for another one (Ischnocnema oea). The estimated overall density of frogs living in the leaf litter of the fragment (based on results of plot sampling) was 3.1 individuals/100 m², with Haddadus binotatus being the most abundant species (2.4 individuals/100 m²). Comparisons of our data with those of other studies suggest that anuran communities in forest fragments ca. 1,000 ha or smaller may be severely limited in their richness, and often include a large proportion of species tolerant to open areas, such as many hylids. Our results show the importance of increasing knowledge about the anurofaunal community of the northern portion of the State of Rio de Janeiro and preserve the forest remnants that still exist in the region