Beyond Habitat: How Anuran Skin Texture Shapes Plant Dispersal in Neotropical Wetlands

ABSTRACT Dispersal is a key process structuring wetland plant communities, yet epizoochory by amphibians remains a little‐known mechanism of passive plant dispersal. This study evaluated the potential role of Neotropical anurans as vectors of plant propagules through external adhesion in coastal wetlands. We sampled 322 individuals from eight anuran species while moving through the terrestrial matrix of coastal wetlands and used standardized skin washes to recover adhered propagules. A total of 303 propagules were identified, representing 33 plant taxa, mainly aquatic and amphibious species. Significant interspecific variation in propagule richness and abundance was observed, with Pseudis minuta exhibiting the highest mean richness and abundance. Anuran skin texture strongly influenced dispersal capacity, with tuberculate‐skinned anurans carrying a higher diversity and quantity of propagules, whereas habitat type (grassland versus dune wetlands) primarily structured the taxonomic composition of dispersed propagules. Although most anuran species move over relatively short distances, the cumulative effect of repeated movements by many individuals can generate a stepwise dispersal network that may enhance local connectivity among wetlands and favour plant persistence and recolonization. Our findings provide the first systematic evidence that anurans can act as epizoochorous dispersers of plants in wetlands, revealing a previously overlooked pathway of plant movement in freshwater ecosystems. By demonstrating how amphibian morphological traits interact with habitat context to shape dispersal outcomes, this study broadens current understanding of wetland connectivity and highlights amphibians as contributors to plant dispersal at local scales.