Amphibians and reptiles from the Mt. Hamiguitan Range of eastern Mindanao Island, Philippines: new distribution records

Avorque

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Syrus cesar pacle Decena * , carlo Aguirre Avorque, ian christopher pacle Decena, pol Delbert Asis & Bryan pacle the impact of anthropogenic habitat alteration on amphibians was investigated, employing an investigative focus on leaf-litter and semi-aquatic species across different habitat alteration types. The habitat alteration types which include primary forest, selectively logged primary forest, secondary forest, abandoned farm areas and pasture (this represents a gradient of habitat alteration ranging from least altered to most altered, respectively) also encompass two habitat types: stream and terrestrial. Species assemblage was compared between habitat alteration types and habitat types, where a total 360 leaf-litter and semi-aquatic amphibians were observed (15 species, 6 families). It was found that amphibian abundance was significantly higher in both forest and stream habitat, and species richness did not differ with respect to habitat alteration type. It was determined, however, that species richness was highly dependent on habitat type (significantly higher in stream habitat). Meanwhile, diversity (Shannon-Wiener) was significantly higher in both forest and stream habitat, and species composition differed markedly between habitat alteration types for stream strip plots. forest habitat exhibited domination by forest specialist species, while altered habitat (abandoned farm areas and pasture) exhibited domination by open-habitat specialist species. Additionally, strong relationships were found between species composition and abundance, as well as richness and diversity (within the measured habitat structures and observed microclimatic conditions). Analyses determined that the higher abundance of leaf-litter and semi-aquatic amphibians was best explained by higher DBH (1.3 m from the ground) and lower temperature and the higher species richness was best explained by higher understorey density. Additionally, higher diversity was associated with increasing understorey density, tree density and temperature. In general, the assemblage of leaf-litter and semi-aquatic amphibians in the lowland tropical rainforest in northeastern Leyte was affected by habitat alteration, highlighting the ongoing importance of conservation efforts. Though the Philippines is commonly known as one of the most important biodiversity hotspots on Earth 1 , there is undoubtedly cause for concern, since southeast Asia has the highest relative rate of deforestation of any major tropical region 2. In the Philippines, an average of 162,000 ha of forests are cleared per year 3 and consequently, the remaining primary forest of the country represents approximately only 3% 1 of land area. This decline of the country's forest is commonly attributed to logging, urbanization and agricultural expansion, as well as other peripheral factors such as shifting cultivation, unorganized encroachment on forest lands, squatting, migration to upland forested areas, and government-sponsored settlement schemes 3,4. Deforestation due to these humaninduced acti...

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of habitat alteration on amphibian diversity and species composition in a lowland tropical rainforest in Northeastern Leyte, Philippines

Avorque

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

“…We then designated two major categories of amphibian and reptile qualitative habitat types (macro-and micro-habitat; Table 1) as follows: macrohabitats were described as species dwelling sites within forested areas of dipterocarp, primary mossy, and secondary growth vegetation. Within these macrohabitats, we adopted riparian (areas adjacent, along, or in streams and rivers) and terrestrial (areas far away from bodies of water; river [historical, 1971, 1979 (see also Brown and Alcala 1974, 1980, 1982] and recent [2013, 2017 ( 1961;Auffenberg and Auffenberg 1988;Brown et al 2012b;Sanguila et al 2016;Supsup et al 2017). Within riparian and terrestrial zones, we categorized microhabitats as "arboreal," "aquatic," and "ground."…”

Section: Data Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herpetological Assemblages in Tropical Forests of the Taguibo Watershed, Butuan City, Eastern Mindanao, Philippines

Sanguila¹,

Plaza²,

Mahinay³

et al. 2021

Philipp J Sci

Tropical watershed ecosystems support heterogeneous habitats and diverse non-human species assemblages, together providing ecosystem services to humans. Amphibians and reptiles are recognized as sensitive indicators of ecosystem “health,” related to beneficial services (provisional, regulating, cultural, structural, functional) human societies receive from terrestrial watersheds. The Taguibo Watershed supplies fresh drinking water to Butuan City in the Caraga Region of northeast Mindanao Island. However, very little is known about the herpetofauna of the area. Here, we synthesize biodiversity data from historical (1971, 1979) and recent (2013, 2017) herpetological surveys from the region. We utilize specimen-associated occurrence records and natural history information to produce a species inventory, analyze their habitat utilization, and characterize diversity metrics to describe herpetological communities of the watershed – resulting in 44 species (27 new records). A number of historically-documented species persist, having partitioned riparian and terrestrial habitat types in dipterocarp and secondary-growth forests of Taguibo. Reptiles exhibit little overlap in the use of microhabitats – in contrast to amphibians, which exhibit either unique or frequently shared microhabitat substrates. In terrestrial microhabitats (not immediately associated with water), many newly-recorded reptiles and amphibians (particularly, of the genus Platymantis) partition space predictably – either occupying a single microhabitat or, in one species (a pit viper, Tropidolaemus subannulatus), two microhabitats. We anticipate that our initial characterization of Taguibo’s herpetofauna may serve as a baseline to promote further research and facilitate conservation initiatives. We emphasize the importance of primary sources – field-based surveys and re-surveys – and open-access biodiversity data served via online platforms that provide live, transparent access to original, unaltered data. Anthropogenic threats involving economic-driven activities present a need for field-based research in support of watershed management. Periodic, survey, and re-survey studies – continuously updating earlier work – are the most reliable, repeatable, and publicly-transparent use of biodiversity survey data in support of societal benefits and ecosystem services.

Environ. Nat. Resour. J.

“…P. surdus perched on fronds of this fern species was encountered. The association of Philautus species with angiosperms in forest sites appears scanty and often reported as part of habitat or microhabitat descriptions as indirect associations (Warguez et al, 2013;Sanguila et al, 2016;Supsup et al, 2017). Although it can be deduced that frogs that have direct aerial development will be dependent on plants for deposition of their eggs and subsequent development of their young, plants also appear to be used by frogs as refuge to conceal themselves from predators, and perch sites while waiting for prey item to feed on as revealed in the field observations of this study.…”

Section: Microhabitats Associated Plants and Observed Activities Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although previous studies accounted for the presence of Philautus species in several sites in Mindanao (Delima et al, 2007;Warguez et al, 2013;Sanguila et al, 2016;Supsup et al, 2017;Bruno et al, 2017), only one published study, Dacalus et al (2017), reported accounts of Philautus species from the forested area of Marilog District. Data on the ecology of Philippine Philautus species also remain depauperate despite the fact that it may provide valuable insights into the organisms' sustenance and can possibly be utilized for crafting appropriate conservation measures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tropical forests harbor more species due to the habitat and microhabitat conditions suited to support a diverse group of species including frogs (Angelini et al, 2011). The Philippine tropical forests have also been persistently reported to be home to several species of frogs with pronounced high rate of endemism and with increasing discovery of new species (Mcleod et al, 2011;Brown et al, 2012;Brown et al, 2015;Sanguila et al, 2016;Supsup et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Philautus (Bush Frogs) Species from Montane Forest of Marilog District, Davao City, Southern Mindanao, Philippines

Mohagan¹,

Delima-Baron²,

Leaño³

et al. 2018

Despite herpetological surveys conducted in Mindanao, scanty data are known about the Philautus species in montane forests as well as its account in southern Mindanao. Species accounts of Philautus sampled from the montane forest of Marilog District in Southern Mindanao with notes on it microhabitats were provided. Belt-transect sampling and microhabitat searches were employed in three different sites. A total of 124 individuals representing four species of Philautus were accounted, three of which are currently known only from forested areas of Mindanao. Philautus acutirostris is the most encountered species. Thirty-four genera of plants associated with microhabitats of Philautus species were accounted. Although the majority of the frog individuals appear to use the plants for perching, other notable activities were also noticed. Further observations may reveal data that will unravel other significant roles of these associated plants in microhabitats of Philautus species.