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Do Neotropical peccary species (Tayassuidae) function as ecosystem engineers for anurans?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2010

Harald Beck ,
Paporn Thebpanya  and
Melissa Filiaggi
Harald Beck*
Affiliation:
Towson University, Department of Biological Sciences, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD, 21252, USA
Paporn Thebpanya
Affiliation:
Towson University, Department of Geography and Environmental Planning, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD, 21252, USA
Melissa Filiaggi
Affiliation:
Towson University, Department of Biological Sciences, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD, 21252, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: hbeck@towson.edu
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Abstract:

The concept of ecosystem engineering has catalysed novel approaches and models for non-trophic species interactions and ecosystem functions. Ecosystem engineers physically modify abiotic and biotic environments, thereby creating new habitats that can be colonized by a new suite of species. In the Peruvian Amazonas, we tested whether peccaries (Tayassuidae) function as ecosystem engineers by creating and maintaining wallows. Such wallows could be critical aquatic habitats and breeding sites for anuran species during dry seasons. We compared hydroperiods of 21 peccary wallows and 13 naturally formed ponds across three dry seasons and found that wallows had a consistently higher mean water surface area than ponds. We also examined the pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature, and found no significant differences in these parameters between water bodies. Wallows had a significantly higher density of tadpoles, metamorphs and adult anurans, as well as higher β-diversity and species richness than ponds. This study not only provides the first systematic evidence of the ecosystem engineering processes of peccaries, but also reveals the positive consequences of such for anuran species.

Keywords

anuransecosystem engineersPecari tajacunon-trophic interactionspecies richnessTayassu pecariwallows
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , July 2010 , pp. 407 - 414
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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