Effects of Oil-Palm Plantations on Diversity of Tropical Anurans

Agriculturally altered vegetation, especially oil-palm plantations, is rapidly increasing in South-east Asia. Low species diversity is associated with this commodity, but data on anuran diversity in oil-palm plantations are lacking. We investigated how anuran biological diversity differs between forest and oil-palm plantation, and whether observed differences in biological diversity of these areas is linked to specific environmental factors. We hypothesized that biological diversity is lower in plantations and that plantations support a larger proportion of disturbance-tolerant species than forest. We compared species richness, abundance, and community composition between plantation and forest areas and between site types within plantation and forest (forest stream vs. plantation stream, forest riparian vs. plantation riparian, forest terrestrial vs. plantation terrestrial). Not all measures of biological diversity differed between oil-palm plantations and secondary forest sites. Anuran community composition, however, differed greatly between forest and plantation, and communities of anurans in plantations contained species that prosper in disturbed areas. Although plantations supported large numbers of breeding anurans, we concluded the community consisted of common species that were of little conservation concern (commonly found species include Fejervarya limnocharis, Microhyla heymonsi, and Hylarana erythrea). We believe that with a number of management interventions, oil-palm plantations can provide habitat for species that dwell in secondary forests. La vegetación alterada por la agricultura, especialmente las plantaciones de palma de aceite, está incrementando rápidamente en el sureste de Asia. Una baja diversidad de especies está asociada con este bien tangible, pero existen pocos datos sobre la diversidad de anuros en estas plantaciones. Investigamos como difiere la biodiversidad de anuros entre bosques y plantaciones de palma de aceites y si las diferencias observadas en la biodiversidad de estas áreas están relacionadas con factores ambientales específicos. Partimos de la hipótesis de que la biodiversidad es más baja en las plantaciones y que éstas soportan una mayor proporción de especies tolerantes a los disturbios que los bosques. Comparamos riqueza de especies, abundancia y composición de la comunidad entre áreas de bosque y de plantaciones y entre sitios tipo dentro de plantaciones y bisques (franja de bosque contra franja de plantación, rip