Effects of abiotic and biotic drivers on tadpoles in seasonal rock pools of Western Ghats rock outcrops, India

Jithin, Vijayan; Naniwadekar, Rohit

doi:10.1101/2024.04.13.589092

2024

DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.13.589092

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Effects of abiotic and biotic drivers on tadpoles in seasonal rock pools of Western Ghats rock outcrops, India

Vijayan Jithin,

Rohit Naniwadekar

Abstract: We assessed the influence of abiotic (pool size, monsoon progression) and biotic (predator abundances) factors on occurrence and abundance of three species of tadpoles by periodically monitoring rock pools in lateritic plateaus. Tadpole responses were positively associated with rock pool size and monsoon progression negatively, but not with predator abundance.

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Cited by 1 publication

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Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community‐ and species‐level responses

Jithin,

Rane,

Watve

et al. 2024

Ecological Applications

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With agricultural demands increasing globally, determining the nature of impacts of different forms of agriculture on biodiversity, especially for threatened vertebrates and habitats, is critical to inform land management. This is especially true for open ecosystems such as the natural rock outcrops and amphibians, both of which are threatened by land‐use change. Lateritic plateaus of the northern Western Ghats are rock outcrop ecosystems harboring endemic biodiversity. Since most of these plateaus are located outside protected areas and officially classified as wastelands, they are rapidly lost due to multiple human pressures, including agriculture. We compared amphibian composition, diversity, and species responses across these rocky plateaus (hereafter plateaus), orchards, and rice paddy in the Western Ghats‐Sri Lanka biodiversity Hotspot, India. We sampled 50 belt transects across four geographically separated plateaus, covering three land‐use classes in three of the plateaus, and recorded information on amphibians and their microhabitats. Each transect was sampled four times across the rainy season. We compared responses of amphibians across three land‐use categories at the community level using Hill numbers, beta‐diversity measures, and nonmetric multidimensional scaling, and at the species level using joint species distribution modeling. Converting plateaus to paddy and orchards significantly altered microhabitat availability by reducing the rock pool habitat availability in paddy and orchards, and increased deep, water‐submerged areas and grass cover in paddy. Conversion to paddy mostly had species‐ and community‐level impacts, that is, lowered species occurrence of certain species, lowered species richness, and more nested communities, whereas conversion to orchards mostly had species‐level impacts, that is, lowered species occurrence, highlighting that different forms of agriculture have varying impacts on amphibians that can be determined by examining community‐ and species‐level effects simultaneously. Using only community‐ or species‐level metrics would not have unraveled these impacts completely. We show that large rock pools are critical microhabitats for frogs, most likely serving as refugia and protecting frogs from desiccation during dry spells in monsoons. Since Indian lateritic plateau habitats in low elevations are rapidly being converted to orchards, efforts are needed to conserve them in partnership with local communities, the custodians of these habitats.

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Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community‐ and species‐level responses

Jithin,

Rane,

Watve

et al. 2024

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

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Effects of abiotic and biotic drivers on tadpoles in seasonal rock pools of Western Ghats rock outcrops, India

Cited by 1 publication

References 34 publications

Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community‐ and species‐level responses

Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community‐ and species‐level responses

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