Defaunation changes leaf trait composition of recruit communities in tropical forests in French Guiana.

Autor: Vaessen RW; Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands., Jansen PA; Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Center for Tropical Forest Science, Ancon, Panama., Richard-Hansen C; OFB/DRAS/UPFSEO, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université de la Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, French Guiana., Boot RGA; Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.; Tropenbos International, Wageningen, the Netherlands., Denis T; OFB/DRAS/UPFSEO, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université de la Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, French Guiana., Derroire G; CIRAD, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université de la Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, French Guiana., Petronelli P; CIRAD, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université de la Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, French Guiana., de Vries JS; Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands., Barry KE; Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands., Ter Steege H; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.; Systems Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands., van Kuijk M; Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Ecology [Ecology] 2023 Jan; Vol. 104 (1), pp. e3872. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Nov 27.
DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3872
Abstrakt: Hunting impacts tropical vertebrate populations, causing declines of species that function as seed dispersers and predators, or that browse seedlings and saplings. Whether and how the resulting reductions in seed dispersal, seed predation, and browsing translate to changes in the tree composition is poorly understood. Here, we assess the effect of defaunation on the functional composition of communities of tree recruits in tropical rainforests in French Guiana. We selected eight sites along a gradient of defaunation, caused by differences in hunting pressure, in otherwise intact old-growth forests in French Guiana. We measured shifts in functional composition by comparing leaf and fruit traits and wood density between tree recruits (up to 5 cm diameter at breast height) and adults, and tested whether and how these compositional shifts related to defaunation. We found a positive relationship with defaunation for shifts in specific leaf area, a negative relationship for shifts of leaf toughness and wood density, and a weak relationship for shifts in fruit traits. Our results suggest that the loss of vertebrates affects ecological processes such as seed dispersal and browsing, of which browsing remains understudied. Even though these changes sometimes seem minor, together they result in major shifts in forest composition. These changes have long-term ramifications that may alter forest dynamics for generations.
(© 2022 The Authors. Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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