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Ecology and Conservation of Wetland Amphibians and Reptiles

Abstract:

Aim: The main focus of this chapter is to provide a brief overview on global patterns of diversity and conservation of wetlands herpetofauna and discuss both ecological and morphological adaptations that facilitate life in such environments. By treating Amazonian wetland amphibians and reptiles as our case studies, we examine their level of specificity to wetland use and current conservation status. Snakes are evaluated in more detail to illustrate reptile diversity thriving in wetlands, which is not necessarily composed of species strictly adapted to water. Finally, both crocodilians and chelonians are considered as case studies to discuss how management initiatives have been linked to their current conservation status. Main concepts covered • Ecological and morphological adaptations of herpetofauna to wetland life. • Global diversity and conservation status of wetland amphibians and reptiles. • Level of specificity of Amazonian amphibian and reptiles to wetlands use. • Sustainable management initiatives for crocodilians and chelonians. Main methods covered: In this chapter, we present a thorough literature review of the current knowledge regarding the ecology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles occurring in wetlands. Overall, we use updated global IUCN Red List assessments to evaluate their global diversity and conservation status. Furthermore, we use more refined group-specific assessments when available (i.e. IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) for chelonians; Rhodin et al., 2018; Meiri, 2018; Uetz et al., 2020 for lizards and snakes). To a great extent, we focus on Neotropical herpetofauna, and specifically on some Amazonian species as case studies to exemplify broad ecological and morphological patterns. Conclusion/outlook: Most amphibian and reptile groups are well represented by wetland-dweller species and some groups show ecological and morphological adaptations to thrive in the water for at least some part of their lives. Broad patterns on the diversity and conservation status of wetland herpetofauna suggest that these animal groups depend mostly on habitat integrity and availability.