Influência das variáveis ambientais na comunidade de anuros de florestas de Terra-Firme na Amazônia Oriental

Abstract

The knowledge of environmental variability assists in predictions about how changes in abiotic environment could affect species distribution. In this study, we evaluated the influence of environmental variables in the composition of frogs communities on local and regional scale from three preserved areas of rainforest mainland: Amapá National Forest, Tapajós National Forest and Caxiuanã National Forest. During the rainy season, between January and April 2012, a total of 56 plots were installed, and we survived for amphibians once on each plot, using simultaneously auditive and visual surveys. The environmental variables collected were: leaf litter height, canopy openness, length at breast height of trees and tree density, air temperature and moisture. In each area the species composition was not affected by canopy openness, leaf litter height and length at breast height of trees. On a regional scale, moisture, temperature, leaf litter height and canopy openness influenced the species composition of the community. The partial redundancy analysis for each area did not indicate significant influence of distance and environmental variables locally, but regionally showed that both distance and environmental variables may influence the community.