Local and regional diversity of frog communities along an extensive rainforest elevation gradient in Papua New Guinea
Data files
Nov 17, 2023 version files 59.50 KB
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DahlEtAl_Data_Dryad_repository.xls
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README.md
Abstract
Rainforests on high tropical mountains are globally important species diversity hotspots. We studied amphibians along an extensive rainforest elevation gradient on Mt. Wilhelm (4,509 m) in Papua New Guinea. We established eight sites at 500 m elevation increments between 200 and 3,700 m a.s.l. and related their community composition to the known species pool of New Guinea island. We recorded 3,390 frogs from 55 species, which is three times more species than at any local community along the elevation gradient. Species diversity peaked at 1,700 m a.s.l. for Mt. Wilhelm communities, and at 500–1,100 m a.s.l. in the broader New Guinea fauna, probably reflecting increasing speciation and decreasing dispersal rates with increasing elevation. The beta diversity between frog communities was high and increased with increasing elevation. The change in frog community composition across 500 m elevation corresponded to the change over 200 km distance within lowland forests. A majority of frog species were distributed over narrow <500 m elevational ranges, at Mt Wilhelm and the New Guinea fauna more broadly. We did not detect Rapoport’s pattern of wider elevation range for species at higher elevations than for lowland species, for Mt. Wilhelm communities or the New Guinea fauna. The high beta diversity patterns along elevation gradients generated by rapid species turnover with narrow elevation ranges make frog communities vulnerable to change in the environment, including climate change.
README: Local and regional diversity of frog communities along an extensive rainforest elevation gradient in Papua New Guinea
Chris Dahl1,2,3*, Stephen J. Richards4, Ismale Basien1, Augustine J. Mungkaje2, and Vojtech Novotny5,6
1 New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Madang, Papua New Guinea, 2 School of Natural and Physical Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 3 National Agriculture Research Institute, Southern Regional Center, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 4 South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia, 5 Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, 6 Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
*Correspondence: Chris Dahl, Email: cd.rokrok@gmail.com
Original Data for the paper published in Biotropica, 2023
Data Explanation
We established eight sites at 500 m elevation increments between 200 and 3,700 m a.s.l. and related their community composition to the known species pool of New Guinea island. We recorded 3,390 frogs from 55 species, which is three times more species than at any local community along the elevation gradient.
Community Data 1. Each species was recorded under a morphospecies code. Species with asterisk are not formally described. Reproduction: direct terrestrial vs. aquatic
Regional Data 2. Regional data include known elevation distribution (minimum and maximum elevation elevation range and elevation midpoint) for all known frog species from the New Guinea mainland.
Species are organized alphabetically within families.