New approaches to ecology and conservation: phylogenetic and functional diversity of amphibians and snakes of Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Abstract

To understand the main factors structuring biodiversity is a major challenge in ecology. It is possible to test multiple structuring processes, including biogeographical, ecological and neutral, from recent theoretical and analytical advances in metacommunity ecology. Species diversity is often treated as a representative property of community structure, and more widely of metacommunities. When compared to taxonomic or species diversity, analyses of phylogenetic diversity (component of evolutionary history) and functional diversity (set of functional traits) of a community allow more objective assessments of its structure. Other important aspects for a better understanding of the structure and status of biodiversity conservation are population declines and extinctions caused by diseases. The chytridiomycosis caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is considered one of the major threats to amphibians worldwide. But little is known about its relationships with natural history, evolution and amphibian distribution. Other important factors relatively poorly studied in Brazil are the effects of habitat loss and forest fragmentation. Snakes are also model organisms for ecological studies and are quite sensitive to modification of natural habitats. The Atlantic Forest is one of the richest biomes in biodiversity, but one of the most devastated and threatened in Brazil. It is believed that its high species richness and endemism for amphibians and snakes are related to its structural heterogeneity. This project aims to analyze the species diversity, phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity of amphibians and snakes of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and their possible structuring factors, to assess the conservation status of these groups, and to propose additional guidelines and criteria for biodiversity conservation. (AU)