Altered structure of bat-prey interaction networks in logged tropical forests revealed by metabarcoding.

Autor: Hemprich-Bennett DR; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK., Kemp VA; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK., Blackman J; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK., Struebig MJ; Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK., Lewis OT; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK., Rossiter SJ; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK., Clare EL; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.; Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Molecular ecology [Mol Ecol] 2021 Nov; Vol. 30 (22), pp. 5844-5857. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Sep 08.
DOI: 10.1111/mec.16153
Abstrakt: Habitat degradation is pervasive across the tropics and is particularly acute in Southeast Asia, with major implications for biodiversity. Much research has addressed the impact of degradation on species diversity; however, little is known about how ecological interactions are altered, including those that constitute important ecosystem functions such as consumption of herbivores. To examine how rainforest degradation alters trophic interaction networks, we applied DNA metabarcoding to construct interaction networks linking forest-dwelling insectivorous bat species and their prey, comparing old-growth forest and forest degraded by logging in Sabah, Borneo. Individual bats in logged rainforest consumed a lower richness of prey than those in old-growth forest. As a result, interaction networks in logged forests had a less nested structure. These network structures were associated with reduced network redundancy and thus increased vulnerability to perturbations in logged forests. Our results show how ecological interactions change between old-growth and logged forests, with potentially negative implications for ecosystem function and network stability.
(© 2021 The Authors. Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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