A functional perspective for global amphibian conservation

Abstract

In anurans, habitat requirements strongly influence morphological evolution, resulting in ecomorphological groups. Current policy for amphibian conservation usually builds on species, without considering to the distinct vulnerability among ecomorphs. With nearly 40% of the amphibian species currently threatened with extinction, different conservation perspectives are essential to protect them. Here, we provide a global overview and future forecast of the threat level imposed on amphibian microhabitat-related ecomorphs. We analyzed the patterns of distribution of seven ecomorphs totaling 3138 species (aquatic, semi-aquatic, arboreal, semi-arboreal, burrowing, terrestrial, and torrential), related these patterns with current and likely future human-dominated landscapes, and estimated the overlap of ecomorph distribution with existing protected areas (PAs). Our results evidence key regions for amphibian conservation under the ecomorphological perspective. In these key regions, coexist more than a half of the world's ecomorphs, some of them in imperiled regions such as the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Our results also showed that current PAs are inefficient to represent all amphibian life forms. In fact, 53% of the species have less than 1% of their distribution occurring inside PAs. This picture seems to be alarming to the most restricted and endemic ecomorph (Torrential species), which are limited to areas where increasing human-driven land transformation are expected. Considering these results, the future of some amphibian life forms may be uncertain unless urgent conservation actions are taken, such as the establishment of new conservation areas that encompasses all levels of amphibian diversity.