Shade Cacao Plantations Provide Little Conservation Benefit for Forest-Dependent Amphibians in the Ecuadorian Chocó

Shade cacao has been empirically shown to promote higher levels of biodiversity than sun cacao, due to conditions that resemble forest habitat. Understanding the conservation value of cacao plantations is important given the widespread transition from shade to sun cacao in the Ecuadorian Chocó, a global biodiversity hotspot. We sampled amphibian communities at 32 sites surrounding a private forest reserve in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, and assessed abundance, richness, Simpson diversity, and presence of endangered species in shade- and sun-grown cacao plantations, abandoned cacao plantations, and remnant forests. We also determined if local (leaf litter, canopy, and herbaceous vegetation cover) and landscape (surrounding forest cover, proximity to water, elevation) variables help predict amphibian abundance and richness to inform better management practices for amphibian communities in this agricultural landscape. We captured 1831 individuals representing 30 species across the wet and dry seasons of 2022–2023. We found no differences in the abundance, richness, or Simpson diversity among the four land use types. However, individual-based extrapolation indicated that abandoned cacao plantations and remnant forest were more diverse. Additionally, we found four species of conservation priority, which almost exclusively inhabited abandoned cacao plantations and remnant forests. We found limited evidence that measured local environmental variables affect amphibian abundance or richness, while elevation had a consistent negative effect on richness and Simpson diversity. Results suggest that the preservation of forest cover would be of greatest benefit to conservation-priority amphibians, unless substantial changes are made to cacao plantation management practices in the region.