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Silviculture Simplifies Anuran–Prey Networks and Increases Niche Partitioning in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

A. N. Carvalho,M. Martins,Paulo R. Guimarães,Rosana C. Paschoalino,Daniela Pinto-Coelho,Matthew C. Hutchinson

Published 2025 in Biotropica

ABSTRACT

Habitat loss due to agricultural expansion is the primary threat to anurans worldwide. Where natural habitat is converted to monoculture, both anuran and prey diversity decline. Beyond species loss, land‐use change disrupts species interactions and ecosystem functioning, making it essential to document how communities reorganize when natural habitats are replaced by agricultural systems. Here, we investigated how the intrusion of Eucalyptus silviculture into Brazil's Atlantic Forest impacts anuran communities, niche partitioning within them, and the structure of anuran–prey networks. Because Eucalyptus plantations are a biotically and structurally simplified environment, we predicted the abundance and diversity of anurans and prey, selectivity of anuran diets, and dietary niche partitioning among anuran species to be lower in Eucalyptus plantations, and we predicted the anuran–prey network in Eucalyptus would have a more connected, non‐modular structure. We found that both anuran and prey abundance were lower in Eucalyptus plantations compared to neighboring Atlantic Forest fragments. Likewise, anuran diversity was also reduced in Eucalyptus, but prey diversity was similar between environments. Contrary to expectation, we found that dietary selectivity was not affected by land‐use change and that niche partitioning and modularity were significant in the Eucalyptus community, whereas neither was significant for the Atlantic Forest community. These findings highlight how land conversion can significantly change the abundance and diversity of species, driving changes in community composition and organization.

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