Tree cover and habitat type mediate taxonomic and phylogenetic anuran diversity in Southeastern Peru

Understanding the drivers that shape anuran diversity is crucial for identifying conservation hotspots, particularly as global anuran declines threaten the reduction of their ecosystem functions across food chains. While studies have examined the influence of environmental and anthropogenic factors, few have explored their effects on multiple facets of diversity or considered how their effects vary across habitat types. Using an extensive dataset from Southeastern Peru, Western Amazonia, we quantified taxonomic and phylogenetic anuran diversity and used linear mixed-effects models to assess how environmental and anthropogenic drivers influenced them. We found a total of 4,010 anuran individuals from 88 species, 29 genera, and 10 families across 20 sites and 72 plots. Observed and standardized data showed that floodplain forests supported ~35% higher taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity than terra firme forests, and models further revealed the significance of forest type in driving anuran multifunctional diversity. Yet, terra firme forests display a stronger effect of tree cover on diversity, resulting in higher anuran diversity in terra firme forests with higher tree cover. Forest degradation negatively influenced anuran phylogenetic diversity, suggesting that anthropogenic disturbances may be filtering species based on their evolutionary identity. These findings highlight the importance of a multifaceted diversity approach to understanding anuran diversity patterns and its drivers. Further, maintaining habitat diversity and tree cover is fundamental to protect anuran diversity in tropical rainforests.