Respuesta de la comunidad de anuros frente a los cambios de uso de suelo en el bosque seco del cantón Macará.

Abstract

Abstract:The remaining dry forest in the province of Loja constitutes approximately 31% of the original coverage of this ecosystem in the country and concentrates an important biological diversity that has been severely affected by anthropogenic factors. In order to know how the change in land use influences the amphibian community, the presence of amphibians in the natural, semi-natural and rice forest of the Macará canton was evaluated. Field sampling was carried out between October 2018 and April 2019, applying the Visual Encounter Survey method. To evaluate the complexity of the vegetation, transects were made where the height and basal area were measured. The vegetation cover categories were also quantified by means of a 200 m buffer in the QGIS software. 480 individuals belonging to 7 species were found. On the other hand, the composition of amphibians was related to changes in land use, in relation to the percentage of coverage, showing that the diversity of amphibians is influenced by the type of vegetation cover rather than by the vegetation structure.