The effects of edge influence on the microhabitat, diversity and life-history traits of amphibians in western Ecuador

Abstract

Edge effects change biodiversity patterns and ecological processes, particularly in tropical forests. To understand the synergistic impact of multiple edges, this study examines how edge influence (EI) is associated with life-history traits (snout-vent length and body temperature), diversity and microhabitat of amphibians as well as habitat characteristics in a tropical forest in Ecuador. We used EI, a metric that calculates cumulative effects across all nearby edges, in combination with five environmental variables that are part of the amphibians' microhabitat (temperature, humidity, slope, canopy cover and leaf litter depth) to understand how their biodiversity patterns are impacted. Our results show that most amphibian species tend to be habitat specialists, and many had an affinity for forest edges and warmer habitats. We do not find significant correlations between EI and amphibian life-history traits and diversity. Our findings corroborate previous results that many amphibian species tend to be positively associated with habitat fragmentation and show that this association is likely driven by thermal regulation.