Amphibian sensitivity to habitat modification is associated with population trends and species traits

Abstract

Aim: Habitat modification is causing widespread declines in biodiversity and the homogenization of biotas. Amphibians are especially threatened by habitat modification, yet we know little about why some species persist or thrive in the face of this threat whereas others decline. Our aim was to identify intrinsic factors that explain variation among amphibians in their sensitivity to habitat modification (SHM), factors that could help target groups of species for conservation.Location: Global. Time period: 1986-2015Major taxon studied: Amphibians. Methods:We quantified SHM using species abundances in natural and altered habitats as reported in published field surveys. We first examined associations between local SHM and rangewide threatened status, population trends and invasiveness. We then evaluated the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic variables in explaining species SHM using multiple comparative methods.Our analyses included over 200 species that could be ranked with confidence from 47 studies across five continents.Results: Amphibians species varied considerably in local SHM. High SHM was associated with elevated range-wide extinction risk and declining population trends. Species that were tolerant of habitat modification were most likely to be invasive outside their native range. Geographical range size was the most important intrinsic predictor and was negatively associated with SHM. Larval habitat was also an important predictor, but was tightly coupled with phylogenetic position.Main conclusions: Narrowly distributed species whose larvae develop on land or in lotic habitats are most sensitive to habitat modification. However, other unmeasured, phylogenetically constrained traits could underlie the effect of larval habitat. Species range size is frequently correlated with global extinction risk in vertebrates, and our analysis extends this macroecological pattern to the sensitivity of amphibians to local habitat loss, a proximate driver of extinction. These general patterns of SHM should help identify those groups of amphibians most at risk in an era of rapid habitat loss and scarce conservation resources. K E Y W O R D Sbiodiversity, conservation, habitat loss, land use, life history, matrix tolerance, specialization, species traits, susceptibility, threatened 700 |

Evolutionarily distinct amphibians are disproportionately lost from human‐modified ecosystems

“…; Trimble & van Aarde ), which is logical given that susceptible species tend to share certain traits (Hirschfeld & Rödel ; Nowakowski et al . ). Although there is some empirical evidence that evolutionarily isolated species have more distinctive suites of traits (e.g.…”

“…These patterns raise the question of what consequences will the loss of evolutionarily distinct amphibians from converted habitats have for ecosystem integrity and function? There is evidence that land conversion functionally homogenises amphibian assemblages (Ernst et al 2006;Trimble & van Aarde 2014), which is logical given that susceptible species tend to share certain traits (Hirschfeld & R€ odel 2017;Nowakowski et al 2017). Although there is some empirical evidence that evolutionarily isolated species have more distinctive suites of traits (e.g.…”

Syntopic frogs reveal different patterns of interaction with the landscape: A comparative landscape genetic study of Pelophylax nigromaculatus and Fejervarya limnocharis from central China

“…Often these two attributes influence the expectations regarding their patterns of genetic differentiation and prompt assumptions about landscape features that act as barriers to their subpopulations. For example, land-use management applications usually base their decisions on research that generalize habitat fragmentation and modification as major factors to amphibian decline (Nowakowski, Thompson, Donnelly, & Todd, 2017). However, amphibian species hold many inherent peculiarities that stem from their complex life cycles as well as life history strategies.…”

<b>An annotated checklist of the herpetofauna of the Rashtrapati Bhawan Estates, New Delhi, India</b>

“…The decline in herpetofaunal species has been caused by a variety of factors such as loss of wetland and forest habitat, climate change, over-exploitation, water pollution, and emergence of diseases (Gibbons et al 2000;Kiesecker et al 2001;Pounds et al 2006;Sodhi et al 2008; Thomas & Biju 2015;Nowakowski et al 2017).…”