Effects of Amazonian flying rivers on frog biodiversity and populations in the Atlantic Rainforest.

Our planet faces its sixth largest species extinction due to anthropogenic climate change and habitat destruction. This leads us to question whether, given the speed at which we are changing the climate, species with high degrees of endemism would have time to adapt before going extinct. Here, we investigate through teleconnection analysis the origin of rainfall that determines the phylogenetic diversity of rainforest frogs and the effects of microclimate differences in shaping the morphological traits of isolated populations (which contribute to greater phylogenetic diversity and speciation). We also investigate through teleconnection analysis how deforestation in Amazonia can affect ecosystem services that are fundamental to maintaining the climate of the Atlantic Rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Seasonal winds known as "flying rivers" carry water vapor from Amazonia to the Atlantic Forest, and the breaking of this ecosystem service could lead Atlantic Forest species to population decline and extinction in the short term. Our results suggest that the selection of morphological traits that shape Atlantic Forest frog diversity and their population dynamics are influenced by the Amazonian flying rivers. Our results also suggest that the increases of temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean due to global warming and in the Amazon Forest due to deforestation are already breaking this cycle and threaten the biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest hotspot. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.