A compilation of morphological and ecological traits at both individual and species levels for amphibians in the Atlantic Forest of South America.
ATLANTIC AMPHIBIAN TRAITS dataset is part of the ATLANTIC series, on which research teams are compiling biodiversity information of Atlantic Forest. This paper follows previous published data papers in Ecology.
Vancine, M. H., P. R. Anunciação, K. S. Duarte, D. B. Delgado, N. Alecrim, L. G. N. Damião, M. C. Ribeiro, and C. F. B. Haddad. ATLANTIC AMPHIBIAN TRAITS: a data set of morphological and ecological traits of amphibians in the Atlantic Forest. EcoEvoRxiv.
The lack of knowledge about species' functional traits represents a major challenge given the increase in focus on functional diversity studies. Typically available at the species-level, these data overlook individual variance within species. Amphibians are particularly suited for trait-based investigations due to their pivotal role connecting terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems through their biphasic life cycle. The Atlantic Forest of South America (AF) hosts approximately 720 species of amphibians, with over 70% being endemic. Despite their high and endemic diversity, the substantial loss of habitat and microhabitats in this hotspot threatens a significant portion of amphibian diversity. Thus, we present the ATLANTIC AMPHIBIAN TRAITS, a data set that includes morphological and ecological traits at both individual and species-level. At the individual-level, we measured 2,489 individuals representing 357 anuran species across 17 families (50% of amphibian diversity of AF), sourced from specimens in the CFBH collection. We assessed 12 continuous morphological traits, including body size (snout-vent length—SVL), head shape (width and length), and locomotor limbs (humerus, radioulna, hand, femur, tibiofibula, tarsus, foot, hindlimb, and forelimb), relevant to natural history characteristics, feeding, trophic levels, locomotion, migration, and dispersion. Additionally, we provide voucher collection numbers, complete taxonomy, geographic information, collection dates, and collector names for these individuals. The data set at species-level comprises 17 ecological traits (related to habitat, reproduction, and trophic characteristics) from 533 amphibian species across 21 families (74% of amphibian diversity of AF). These ecological traits, sourced from literature, comprise two continuous traits (female and male body size—SVL values), and 15 categorical traits covering various aspects such as locomotion mode, habitat preferences, reproductive modes, and toxicity levels. Acknowledging the data set's incompleteness given the vast amphibian diversity in the AF, we view this effort as a significant step in compiling individual amphibian traits for the Neotropical region. This data set serves as a valuable resource for advancing research on anthropogenic and climate change impacts on amphibian functional diversity within the AF ecosystems.
Figure 1. Original distribution of the Atlantic Forest in South America and current extent of its forest vegetation remnants in 2020. Dots represent individuals with morphological measurements taken at CFBH amphibian collection between 2016 and 2017 included in the ATLANTIC AMPHIBIAN TRAITS data set. Dark gray dots indicate measurements with approximate coordinates (1859), while red dots indicate measurements with precise coordinates (598) for 357 species (not all individuals have a collection location or coordinate available).
All analyses were performed in R language. This folder contains all R code files used:
01_prepare_data_traits.R: prepare trait data02_description_data_traits.R: description trait data with tables and figures
Tables with trait information.
All figures in the paper in high definition.
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, Laboratório de Ecologia Espacial e Conservação, Rio Claro, Brazil
Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Königsbrücker Landstrasse 159, 01109 Dresden, Germany
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, Laboratório de Ecologia Espacial e Conservação, Rio Claro, Brazil
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, Laboratório de Ecologia Espacial e Conservação, Rio Claro, Brazil
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Zoologia e Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil