Recovery of amphibian species richness and composition in a chronosequence of secondary forests, northeastern Costa Rica

In some tropical regions, following the abandonment of agriculture and pastures, secondary forests can recover plant species richness and forest structure (e.g. canopy cover, biomass); however, the importance of these secondary forests for fauna is not clear. Secondary forests can benefit fauna by providing suitable habitats, connecting forests fragments, and increasing gene flow. Previous studies of forest regeneration have showed different levels of amphibian recovery. In Puerto Rico, 1–5 years old secondary forests achieved similar amphibian species richness and composition in comparison with old-growth forests, while in Brazil secondary forests from 14 to 19 years of recovery only recovered 60% of the species of old-growth forests. We evaluated amphibian recovery in secondary forests in northeastern Costa Rica, by assessing amphibian recovery in 12 secondary forests that vary in age of recovery and in three old-growth forests using visual and acoustic surveys. Our sites varied in terms of their landscape (e.g. amount of surrounding forest) and forest characteristics (e.g. forest age, aboveground biomass, basal area, number of tree species, number of stems, leaf-litter depth), but there was no relationship between these characteristics and amphibian species richness or species composition. We found that amphibians are recovering rapidly in secondary forests in Costa Rica, and even young forests (10–16 years) had similar species richness and composition in comparison with old-growth forests. These forests are providing suitable microhabitats conditions for amphibians. In addition, this study highlights the importance of landscape characteristics. The abundance of amphibian species sources (e.g. forest patches) and connections between forests appear to be helping the species colonize these sites. Worldwide, the area of secondary forests is increasing, and our results show that these habitats are suitable for a diversity of amphibian species, suggesting that these forests can help reduce amphibian population and species decline.

► Tropical forests can recover rapidly from different human activities.
► Secondary forest can provide suitable habitats for fauna (i.e. amphibians).
► We evaluated amphibian species recovery in secondary forests with different age of recovery.
► Secondary forests have similar species richness and composition than old-growth forests.
► Secondary forests can help to mitigate amphibian population and species decline.