Diversity and species turnover of amphibians and reptiles assemblajes among biotopes in a highly disturbed tropical dry forest landscape of northern Colombia

Abstract

In this Work, we contextualize the transformation of natural habitats mainly for agricultural and cattle activities and urban growth, how these activities changed the biotic and abiotic conditions of ecosystems, affecting the structure and composition of amphibians and reptile’s populations. The forest ecosystems (Tropical Dry Forest) of Cesar and Magdalena departments have been exploited for decades, making them a highly threatened and priority conservation area for Colombia. Amphibians and reptiles have different habitat perceptions depending on the scale they reproduce, behave and interact with environment, making necessary to adapt physiological conditions related to climatic factor and vegetal coverages along the environment gradients. For this reason, amphibians and reptiles play a functional key role in ecosystems and are important, directly or indirectly, for human beings.