EFECTO DE BORDE SOBRE ANUROS DEL BOSQUE SECO TROPICAL, POTREROS Y PLANTACIONES DE PALMA DEACEITE, Y SU RELACIÓN CON VARIABLES AMBIENTALES EN EL CARIBE COLOMBIANO

Changes in land use are the main cause of tropical dry forest (Bs-t) loss. After deforestation, the remaining patches of Bs-t experience environmental changes across a distance gradient from the adjacent anthropogenic matrix towards the interior of the forest. Anurans inhabiting the tropical dry forest (Bs-t) are primarily threatened by agricultural and forestry systems. This study analyzed the spatiotemporal variation in environmental variables (topographic, climatic, and vegetation structure) from the interior of Bs-t towards oil palm plantations (CPA) and pastures (P) in a location in the Colombian Caribbean, aiming to determine their influence on anuran assemblage structuring. During the early rainy season, temperature, distance to water bodies, percentage of leaf litter, understory density, canopy cover, precipitation during the sampling day, and relative humidity were the environmental variables generating the most differentiation between Bs-t with CPA and P. Conversely, during the dry season, the differentiation of P from CPA and Bs-t was due to changes in accumulated precipitation, altitude, canopy percentage, herbaceous cover percentage, bare soil percentage, understory density, and height above the ground. Although the interaction between land uses and climatic seasonality had no effects on assemblage structure (Bray Curtis) and species diversity (Hill numbers), differences were evident when considering the interaction with the edge distance factor. Changes in anuran diversity were explained by precipitation during the sampling day, accumulated precipitation, presence of temporary lentic water bodies, distance to water bodies, bare soil percentage, rock percentage, and fallen trunk percentage. The assemblage structure of anurans inhabiting the interior of Bs-t was affected at distances beyond 542 m from water bodies. Inside pastures, fallen trunk percentage, leaf litter percentage, and anuran individual height above the ground explained changes in anuran assemblage structure. This study demonstrates the importance of edge effects in understanding the consequences of deforestation on species assemblages and highlights the significance of pasture management (allowing leaf litter and trunk accumulation) and the maintenance of permanent water bodies to increase the dispersal of some anuran species in transformed tropical dry forest landscapes.