Habitat and acoustic spectrum as determinant factors of the occupation of neotropical anurans

Abstract

Using occupancy models, we tested five variables (four landscape-related and one soundscape-related) as predictors of the occupation of ten neotropical anurans.We report for the first time a variable that describes the use of the acoustic spectrum as a predictor of anuran occupation.We found that occupation was associated with at least one of the tested environmental variables, and that three species presented occupancies associated with the use of the acoustic spectrum.Our results show that vegetation cover, topography, and use of the acoustic spectrum are predictors of neotropical anuran occurrence.This study highlights the benefits of incorporating ecoacoustics and landscape characterization into a single methodological framework, to predict population patterns.