CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The replacement of native forests by high-density tree plantations affects the richness andcomposition of animal communities through the modification of the resource availability,hydrological regimes, nutrient cycles and soil structure. Previous studies have been conductedmainly on birds and mammals, whereas few have explored the response of anurans, a taxonconsidered at risk and in steep decline. With this study we aimed to evaluate changes in anurandiversity associated with native forest replacement by pine plantations (Pinus taeda) in thesouthern Atlantic forest of Argentina, a highly diverse and threatened ecosystem. Additionally, weintended to explore the role of the micro-habitat (terrestrial, aquatic) in the response. Wecharacterized vegetation and habitat structure and sampled anurans in terrestrial and aquatic microhabitatsin the native forest and pine plantations monthly over two consecutive years (2012?2014),using three complementary techniques (pitfall traps, audio strip transects and larval sampling). Atotal of 964 individuals of 21 species were captured: Physalaemus cuvieri, Odontophrynusamericanus and Elachistocleis bicolor were the most abundant species. Replacement of thestructurally complex native forest by extremely simplified monoculture plantations influenced thepatterns of anuran alpha and beta diversity. However, changes in the terrestrial habitat wereexplained by species loss, while those in aquatic habitat were explained by both species loss andturnover. The arboreal species of the family Hylidae were found absent from tree plantations. Thehydroperiod instability of water bodies and the simplified vegetation structure of the treeplantations are probably limiting the suitability for reproduction and larval development of somespecialist species. Native vegetation surrounding water bodies in the tree plantations constitutes acentral element to maintain anuran diversity, increasing the hydroperiod and providing a habitatfor species reproduction and to facilitate the movement of individuals among native forestremnants.