Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://repositorio.icmbio.gov.br/handle/cecav/2316
Title: Are assemblages of aquatic-breeding anurans (Amphibia) niches structured or neutral.
Authors: Melo, Muryllo
Fava, Fernanda
Pinto, Hugo B.
Nomura, Fausto
Keywords: Cerrado;community structure;co-occurrence;Eltonian niche;Grinnellian niche;redundancy analysis
Issue Date: 2014
Publisher: Biotropica
Abstract: Local niche-based processes and dispersal are important determinants of assemblage composition and species diversity. However, there is no consensus about the relative importance of niche and spatial processes to explain the distribution of anuran species in tropical systems. In our study, we analyzed the niche and neutral effects on anuran assemblages and found that biotic interactions were a predictor of assemblage structure. The Eltonian concept of niche was the best predictor for the structure of aquatic-breeding anuran assemblages, as species tended to co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. We suggest that the lack of environmental effect could be explained by differences in the pattern of movement between arboreal and non-arboreal anurans. Once there is a reduction in the number of arboreal anurans in open areas, the importance of habitat heterogeneity to explain assemblage composition should decrease. The lack of correlation between the spatial component in our model and species composition is evidence that spatial processes, such as migration, did not play a major role in structuring local assemblages. Anurans are generally assumed as having poor dispersal ability, yet this assumption is not true for all anuran species. We suggest that future studies should include key behavioral traits, such as site fidelity and homing behavior, as these traits can represent the dispersal abilities of anurans and dispersal ability seems to be important when we try to predict patterns of anuran distribution.
metadata.dc.type: Artigo
metadata.dc.localofdeposit: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/btp.12130
URI: https://repositorio.icmbio.gov.br/handle/cecav/2316
Appears in Collections:Livros e Publicações

Files in This Item:
There are no files associated with this item.


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.