Mountain caves of the central region of Veracruz: A vertebrate biodiversity reservoir in a Neotropical hotspot

The analysis of karst and volcanic caves at different altitudinal zones also showed contrast- ing patterns. In terms of species richness (q0), birds were the class with the highest richness in the karst caves located in Z1 (300–599 m a.s.l.) and Z2 (600–899 m a.s.l.). Mammals and the rest of the vertebrates had a relatively high richness, especially in karst caves at Z2. Although reptiles and amphibians had fewer species than the other vertebrate classes, they showed more common species (q1), dominant species (q2), and very dominant species (q3) in karst caves at Z2. In contrast, volcanic caves showed the lowest diversity of the vertebrates sampled (Fig 3). The Hill number profiles according to cave environment showed the highest bird species richness (q0) in the euphotic environment of karst and volcanic caves, but this environment also showed a lower number of common species (q1), dominant species (q2), and very domi- nant species (q3) of this vertebrate class (Fig 5). Mammals and amphibians in the aphotic envi- ronment of karst caves showed the same pattern. Reptiles (with fewer species than the other vertebrate classes) showed high species richness (q0) but lower q1, q2, and q3 in the euphotic environment of volcanic and karst caves. In contrast, the three environments of volcanic caves showed low and more constant numbers of species, common, dominant, and very dominant species of all vertebrate classes (Fig 4). Beta diversity in Karst and volcanic caves The β-diversity values in karst caves were higher for mammals and birds and were due to dif-

ferences in species richness (70% and 50%, respectively). In contrast, the β-diversity values obtained for reptiles and amphibians were similar and were mostly due to differences in spe- cies replacement (60% and 58%, respectively) (Fig 5). In volcanic caves, mammals exhibited the highest β-diversity values, which were due to dif- ferences in species richness (65%). In the case of birds, the β-diversity values were similar and were due to differences in species richness (45%) and replacement (55%). With respect to Fig 3. Diversity (Hill numbers) profiles of mammals (a), birds (b), reptiles (c), and amphibians (d) in karst and volcanic caves at different altitudinal zones: Z1 (300–599 m a.s.l), Z2 (600–899 m a.s.l), Z3 (900–1199 m a.s.l.), and Z4 (2100–2400 m a.s.l.). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306105.g003 PLOS ONE Vertebrates in caves of Neotropical hotspot PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306105 August 9, 2024 8 / 19