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Diversity and composition of anuran communities in transformed landscapes in central Mexico

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Abstract

Anthropized environments are associated with loss of biodiversity and have been listed as sites with low species richness for various biological groups. In this study, anuran amphibian species richness, community composition, and taxonomic and functional richness are analyzed for a highly anthropized region of central Mexico, the state of Querétaro, Mexico. A literature and database review found 25 species of anurans recorded in 13 types of environments varying from conserved to anthropized ones. Non-irrigated agricultural environments with annual seasonal harvests, such as submontane scrubland and low deciduous forest, presented the greatest species richness. Environments that had been transformed into crop fields, induced grassland and urban areas showed a greater similarity in their species composition compared to temperate environments without strong modification, i.e., montane cloud forest, pine–oak forest and oak–pine forest. The environments that presented a lower number of species also presented higher values of taxonomic diversity than those that presented the greatest species richness. The study showed that anthropized environments can maintain a different species composition than conserved environments, and maintain greater species and functional richness. This being so, further studies evaluating population density, endemism and conservation status of the species are necessary to evaluate anthropic effect on amphibian communities and other biological groups in the state of Queretaro and in other regions of Mexico.

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Appendix 1, list of scientific collections consulted.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología through the Project CONACyT #271845, “Red Temática Biología, Manejo y Conservación de Fauna Nativa en Ambientes Antropizados”. We thank the logistic support to PRODEP through Cuerpo Académico de Ecología y Diversidad Faunística, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. We thank Margaret Schroeder for her revising the language of our manuscript.

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  1. Laboratorio de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Santa Fe Juriquilla, 76230, Querétaro, México

    Raciel Cruz-Elizalde & Rubén Pineda-López

  2. Laboratorio de Ecología de Poblaciones, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Km 4.5 carretera Pachuca-Tulancingo, 42184, Mineral de La Reforma, Hidalgo, México

    Aurelio Ramírez-Bautista

  3. Universidad Tecnológica de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla No. 5, Fraccionamiento Los Héroes, Tizayuca, Hidalgo, México

    Christian Berriozabal-Islas

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  1. Raciel Cruz-Elizalde
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RCE and RPL conceived the idea. RCE and CBI analyzed the data. RCE wrote the paper. ARB reviewed the final version of the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Raciel Cruz-Elizalde.

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Appendix 1 National and foreign collections consulted with records of amphibians species from Querétaro, Mexico.

Appendix 1 National and foreign collections consulted with records of amphibians species from Querétaro, Mexico.

Collection

Country

Colección Herpetológica Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, UAEH

Mexico

Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad CONABIO

Mexico

Colección Nacional de Anfibios y Reptiles de la Facultad de Ciencias del Instituto de Biología, UNAM

Mexico

Museo de Zoología de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México MZFC

Mexico

Collection of Vertebrates, University of Texas at Arlintong UTA

USA

Collection of Herpetology, University of California at Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology MVZ

USA

Collection Herpetology, Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Texas A and M University TCWC

USA

Collection Herpetology, Oklahoma Museum of Natural History University of Oklahoma OMNH

USA

Collection of Herpetology, Zoology Section of Los Angeles Country Museum of Natural History LACM

USA

Collection of Herpetology, University of Illinois Museum of Natural History UIMNH

USA

Collection of Herpetology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University MCZ

USA

The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology UMMZ

USA

Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad CONABIO

México

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Cruz-Elizalde, R., Pineda-López, R., Ramírez-Bautista, A. et al. Diversity and composition of anuran communities in transformed landscapes in central Mexico. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 23, 103–114 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42974-022-00076-9

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