![Sample our Environment & Sustainability journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5935/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Environment-Sustainability.jpg"})
Abstract
I surveyed amphibians and reptiles in primary forest growing on two different soil types in northeastern Costa Rica to determine if animals showed edaphically-biased distribution patterns. Species composition of the herpetofaunal assemblage and the density of two of the four most abundant species in the sample differed significantly between soil types. There were no differences in multivariate habitat profiles between the two soil types, and species composition was not related to habitat characteristics. The density of one species (Dendrobates pumilio) was negatively related to leaf litter cover. The distribution of D. pumilio, a diet specialist, did not appear to be related to the distribution of arthropod prey items. While these data suggest that amphibian and reptile density varies between edaphically-differentiated forest types at this site, the mechanisms generating observed distribution patterns remain unclear.
Acknowledgments
I thank the Organization for Tropical Studies and the Tropical Biology Program at Florida International University for financial support. R. Colwell and J. Longino identified D. pumilio stomach contents and provided information on ant ecology. Stacy West helped create the figures. B. Fraser, I. Jimenez, G. Londoño, V. McKenzie, S. Leannisto, N. Pinnel, K. Wendelberger, S. Whitfield, and especially K. Hines and R. Leonard provided assistance in the field. I thank H. Beck, A. Catenazzi, M. Donnelly, C. Guyer, K. Hines, W. Magnusson, R. Saporito, C. Ugarte, E. Verdon, S. Whitfield, and two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript. This is contribution 82 from the Tropical Biology Program at Florida International University.