Spatial and temporal patterns of amphibian species richness on Tianping Mountain, Hunan Province, China.

Exploring species richness patterns across space and time can help in understanding species distribution and in formulating conservation strategies. Among taxa, amphibians are of utmost importance as they are highly sensitive to environmental changes due to their unique life histories (Zhong et al., 2018). Here, we investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of amphibian species richness on Tianping Mountain in China. Specifically, we established 10 transects at low to high elevations, and sampled amphibians in April, June, August, and October 2017. Our results demonstrated that amphibian species composition and richness varied significantly at both spatial and temporal scales and were associated with gradients of environmental change in microhabitats on Tianping Mountain.