Patterns and Environmental Drivers of Amphibian Alpha and Beta Diversity in the Huangshan Mountains, Southern Anhui, China
- 1Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Security in the Yangtze River Basin, College of Life Sciences Anhui Normal University Wuhu China
- 2Collaborative Innovation Center of Recovery and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystem in Wanjiang Basin Co‐Founded by Anhui Province and Ministry of Education, School of Ecology and Environment Anhui Normal University Wuhu China
Abstract
Understanding the spatial patterns of biodiversity and their environmental determinants is fundamental to ecology and conservation, particularly in mountainous transitional zones where species assemblages can shift rapidly. Amphibians, as highly sensitive organisms, are excellent indicators of environmental change, yet quantitative assessments of their diversity in the Huangshan Mountains—a biodiversity hotspot at the junction of the Palaearctic and Oriental realms in southern Anhui, China—remain limited. We conducted systematic line‐transect surveys across 200 grids (5 × 5 km) during the spring and autumn of 2023 and 2024, recording a total of 10,342 individuals belonging to 23 species, 20 genera, 9 families, and 2 orders. Three species ( Fejervarya multistriata , Microhyla fissipes , and Bufo gargarizans ) were identified as dominant, and two nationally protected species ( Hoplobatrachus chinensis and Andrias davidianus ) were detected. Inter‐annual alpha diversity was largely stable, with no significant differences in most metrics except species richness, but pronounced seasonal variation was observed, with spring supporting higher Shannon‐Wiener and Pielou evenness than autumn in both years. Using generalized additive models and model averaging, we found that annual precipitation and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were consistently the strongest positive predictors of Shannon‐Wiener diversity, Simpson diversity, and species richness, while species richness also declined significantly with increasing human footprint. Total beta diversity (Sørensen dissimilarity) was very high (0.981) and overwhelmingly driven by species turnover (97.86%) rather than nestedness. Partial Mantel tests and distance‐based redundancy analysis further revealed that environmental distances—particularly annual precipitation—significantly shaped overall beta diversity and its turnover component after accounting for geographic distance. These results highlight the predominant role of climatic and vegetation gradients in structuring amphibian assemblages in this subtropical mountainous region, providing baseline data to inform local conservation strategies.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026patterns,
title = {{Patterns and Environmental Drivers of Amphibian Alpha and Beta Diversity in the Huangshan Mountains, Southern Anhui, China}},
author = {Suyue Wang and Ziyi Wang and Yujia Sun and Zhirong He and Qingyan Sun and Jiedong Wei and Yingxin Li and Meiting Liu and Jiayi Shi and Chunna Zhang and Siyu Wu and Yufeng Bai and Ziruo Zhang and Na Zhao and Supen Wang},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/ece3.74556},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74556},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Patterns and Environmental Drivers of Amphibian Alpha and Beta Diversity in the Huangshan Mountains, Southern Anhui, China
AU - Suyue Wang
AU - Ziyi Wang
AU - Yujia Sun
AU - Zhirong He
AU - Qingyan Sun
AU - Jiedong Wei
AU - Yingxin Li
AU - Meiting Liu
AU - Jiayi Shi
AU - Chunna Zhang
AU - Siyu Wu
AU - Yufeng Bai
AU - Ziruo Zhang
AU - Na Zhao
AU - Supen Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.1002/ece3.74556
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74556
AB - Understanding the spatial patterns of biodiversity and their environmental determinants is fundamental to ecology and conservation, particularly in mountainous transitional zones where species assemblages can shift rapidly. Amphibians, as highly sensitive organisms, are excellent indicators of environmental change, yet quantitative assessments of their diversity in the Huangshan Mountains—a biodiversity hotspot at the junction of the Palaearctic and Oriental realms in southern Anhui, China—remain limited. We conducted systematic line‐transect surveys across 200 grids (5 × 5 km) during the spring and autumn of 2023 and 2024, recording a total of 10,342 individuals belonging to 23 species, 20 genera, 9 families, and 2 orders. Three species ( Fejervarya multistriata , Microhyla fissipes , and Bufo gargarizans ) were identified as dominant, and two nationally protected species ( Hoplobatrachus chinensis and Andrias davidianus ) were detected. Inter‐annual alpha diversity was largely stable, with no significant differences in most metrics except species richness, but pronounced seasonal variation was observed, with spring supporting higher Shannon‐Wiener and Pielou evenness than autumn in both years. Using generalized additive models and model averaging, we found that annual precipitation and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were consistently the strongest positive predictors of Shannon‐Wiener diversity, Simpson diversity, and species richness, while species richness also declined significantly with increasing human footprint. Total beta diversity (Sørensen dissimilarity) was very high (0.981) and overwhelmingly driven by species turnover (97.86%) rather than nestedness. Partial Mantel tests and distance‐based redundancy analysis further revealed that environmental distances—particularly annual precipitation—significantly shaped overall beta diversity and its turnover component after accounting for geographic distance. These results highlight the predominant role of climatic and vegetation gradients in structuring amphibian assemblages in this subtropical mountainous region, providing baseline data to inform local conservation strategies.
SN - 2045-7758
SN - 2045-7758
ER -