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Does Organic Agriculture Benefit Anuran Diversity in Rice Fields?

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Abstract

The debate about management practices that help maintain biodiversity in cultivated areas is an ongoing controversy in conservation biology. It has been suggested that organic agriculture supports greater levels of diversity than non–organic agriculture. This study examined anuran assemblages in natural intermittent ponds and rice fields under two types of cultivation methods (conventional and organic) in southern Brazil. We tested the differences in species richness and composition among assemblages and guilds, at different stages of rice cultivation. Overall, organic fields had a different species composition than conventional fields and natural ponds. Most of the differences observed between the natural areas and the rice fields occurred during the off–season. For semi-aquatic species, richness was higher in off-season and in earlier growing stages. We found no differences in species richness of fossorial and arboreal species across the crop cycle. The differences we observed may relate to differences in dispersal abilities among guilds. Thus, the incorporation of individual traits of each species (e.g., habitat preference and reproductive mode) is fundamental to the creation of more effective conservation strategies in agroecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We thank F. Nomura, N. P. Smaniotto, P. Colombo, and three anonymous referees for helpful comments in a previous version of the manuscript. We are thankful to all private owners that authorized the use of their rice fields for our research. This study is part of the results of the Project “Manejo de arrozais com vistas à conservação da biodiversidade aquática das áreas úmidas do sul do Brasil” of the Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Ecossistemas Aquáticos, UNISINOS. This research was supported by funds from UNISINOS (02.00.023/00–0), Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa no Rio Grande do Sul–FAPERGS (11/1149–7), and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico–CNPq (52370695.2). We declare that the data collection complied with Brazilian current laws (Sistema de Autorização e Informação em Biodiversidade–SISBIO n. 24882–2).

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  1. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Ecossistemas Aquáticos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos—UNISINOS, 93022-000, São Leopoldo, Brazil

    Leonardo Felipe Bairos Moreira & Leonardo Maltchik

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  1. Leonardo Felipe Bairos Moreira
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Correspondence to Leonardo Felipe Bairos Moreira.

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Moreira, L.F.B., Maltchik, L. Does Organic Agriculture Benefit Anuran Diversity in Rice Fields?. Wetlands 34, 725–733 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-014-0537-y

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