DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1rn8pk0vx
title: Amphbian larvae survey at Emas National Park, Brazil (2012/2013, 2014/2015, 2017/2018)

description: Multiple factors contribute to explaining the composition and structure of
 communities and the niche is still the most used theory to describe how
 organisms interact with such factors to generate biological communities’
 patterns. Both biotic and abiotic aspects of the environment along with
 the geographic space interact in complex ways with the behavior and
 physiological tolerance of organisms to structure a community. In this
 study, we tested the potential effects of the environment and space that
 may determine the distribution of tadpoles in aquatic habitats located at
 Emas National Park. To this end, we sampled 23 aquatic habitats, described
 their environmental characteristics, recorded their geographic location,
 and carried out a survey of the tadpoles found. Later, we evaluated the
 effect of environmental and spatial variables on the distribution of
 species, through a Partial Redundancy analysis, using matrices of
 environmental descriptors and geographic location. We found that both
 environmental and spatial factors drive the distribution and the species
 composition of the studied assemblages. Also, when we analyzed the pattern
 of co-occurrence, we observed that the number of co-occurrence pairs of
 species in the Emas National Park is less frequent than expected by
 chance, suggesting that besides the effect of abiotic components
 (environmental and spatial factors), competition is a co-structuring
 factor in the assemblages of tadpoles.
description: <strong>Study area</strong>
 Sampling was carried out at Emas National Park (PNE)
 (17°49', 18°28'S and 52°39', 53°10'W) which has
 approximately 7.300 km2 and is located in the midwest region of Brazil. It
 is one of the largest and most important protected areas of the Cerrado,
 due to its diversified flora and fauna (IBDF 1981). The average annual
 temperature ranges from 22 to 24°C and precipitation ranges from 1,500 to
 1,700 mm per year, with rainfall mostly concentrated between October and
 March. The vegetation of PNE consists of different Cerrado types
 comprising of open savanna gradient (68.1%), dense savanna (Cerrado sensu
 stricto; 25.1%), wet fields (4.9%), and riparian and mesophytic forests
 (1.2%) (Ramos-Neto and Pivello 2000).
 <strong>Data sampling</strong> We
 sampled 23 aquatic habitats within and around the park. We conducted the
 fieldwork at the beginning and at the end of three rainy seasons (October
 to March) from 2012/2013, 2014/2015, and 2017/2018. Therefore, each
 aquatic habitat was sampled six times. We described the structural
 characteristics of each sampled pool based on the following variables: %
 of each vegetation type around and inside the puddle (herbaceous, shrub,
 floating vegetation), % substrate type (rock, stones, gravel, coarse,
 sand, clay, mud and leaf litter), % margin type (ravine, flat, inclined
 and excavated), % of land use type around the puddle (short- or long-term
 cultures, regenerated forest, continuous forest, and grassland), and
 dimensions (maximum length, maximum height, and maximum depth). To define
 the quantities in percent of each of the structural characteristics, the
 same researcher (IBFP) evaluated the selected traits of each descriptor
 according to a semi-quantitative scale (0%; 1-20%; 21-40%; 41-60%; 61-80%;
 81-100%). Later, we summed the percent of each trait to generate the
 environment descriptor, using the following conversion rule: 0% = 0; 1-20%
 = 0.1; 21- 40% = 0.3; 41-60% = 0.4; 61-80% = 0.8; 81-100% = 0.9.
 Percentages of each descriptor could be higher than 100%. For example,
 when calculating the % of each vegetation type inside the puddle, the
 researcher evaluated and applied a value in the semi quantitative scale
 for each trait (herbaceous = 21-40%, shrub = 1-20%, floating vegetation =
 61=80%) and summed its values following the conversion rule
 (0.3+0.1+0.8=1.2). Values in the raw data represent the mean values of the
 six samples. We sampled the margins of aquatic habitats
 for an hour or until completing a walk along their entire perimeter (Heyer
 1994). The sampling was done using a conical dip net (30 cm diameter and a
 3mm² mesh). Then, we anesthetized tadpoles in a 5% benzocaine solution and
 fixed them in 10% formalin. Afterward, we identified each larva with the
 aid of the identification key from Rossa-Feres and Nomura (2006) and
 specialized literature that characterized the larvae of anurans.
 Nomenclature followed Frost (2020). The specimens used in the study are
 deposited at the Zoological Collection of the Federal University of Goiás
 (ZUFG).
description: The datasets are the raw data for local environmental descriptors
 and the output for intermediary steps of the analyses in our article. Our
 intention is to give transparency and allow replication of our statistical
 procedure. Raw data of species distribution and abundance can be found in
 the published article. Abbreviations for the
 Paixao-et-al-2022-Raw-environmental-data.txt as follows:
 Lenght Length in meters Width Width in meters Depth Depth in meters Mravine Quantity of margin type: ravine Mflat Quantity of margin type: flat Minclined Quantity of margin type: inclined Mexcavated Quantity of margin type: excavated Scoarsegravel Quantity of substrate type: coarse gravel Sfinegravel Quantity of substrate type: fine gravel Ssand Quantity of substrate type: sand Sclay Quantity of substrate type: clay Smud Quantity of substrate type: mud Slitter Quantity of substrate type: litter Vitotal Quantity of vegetation inside the pond: total Vinone Quantity of vegetation inside the pond: none Viunderwater Quantity of vegetation inside the pond: underwater Vifloating Quantity of vegetation inside the pond: floating Viherberect Quantity of vegetation inside the pond: herbaceous erect Vishrubby Quantity of vegetation inside the pond: shrubby Viarboreal Quantity of vegetation inside the pond: arboreal Vicattail Quantity of vegetation inside the pond: cattail Vmnone Quantity of vegetation on margins: none Vmherbaceous Quantity of vegetation on margins: herbaceous Vmherberect Quantity of vegetation on margins: herbaceous erect Vmshrubby Quantity of vegetation on margins: shrubby Vmarboreal Quantity of vegetation on margins: arboreal Vmcattail Quantity of vegetation on margins: cattail USElong Land use around the pond: long-term culture (e.g. eucalyptus) USEshort Land use around the pond: short-term culture (e.g. soy) USEshrub Land use around the pond: grassland  USEwoods Land use around the pond: forest USEpasture Land use around the pond: pasture