Elevated alpha diversity in disturbed sites obscures regional decline and homogenization of amphibian taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity.

ABSTRACT: Loss of natural habitat due to land-use change is one of the major threats to biodiversity worldwide. It not only affects the diversity of local species communities (alpha diversity) but can also lead to large-scale homogenization of community composition (reduced beta diversity) and loss of regional diversity (gamma diversity), but these effects are still rarely investigated. We assessed the impact of land-use change on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of amphibians in Rwanda, both on the local (community-level) and regional scale (country-wide). Alpha diversity in local communities was higher in farmland than in natural habitats; however, species turnover among farmland sites was much lower than among natural sites, resulting in highly homogenized communities and reduced

SUBMITTER: Dehling DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9889332 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature