Does patch quality drive arboreal mammal assemblages in fragmented rainforests?
| Autor: | Sabine J. Cudney-Valenzuela, Salvador Mandujano, Francisco Mora-Ardila, Tarin Toledo-Aceves, Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez, Ellen Andresen, Gabriel P. Andrade-Ponce |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Arboreal locomotion lcsh:QH1-199.5 Endangered species Rainforest Management Monitoring Policy and Law Biology lcsh:General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Basal area Abundance (ecology) Fragmentation lcsh:QH540-549.5 Nature and Landscape Conservation Habitat quality Ecology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology fungi Species diversity Vegetation Large trees Biodiversity hotspot Epiphyte cover Lianas lcsh:Ecology Tree basal area |
| Zdroj: | Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 61-68 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2530-0644 |
| Popis: | Patch size is considered a major driver of species diversity in fragmented landscapes. Yet, assemblages of forest-dependent species, such as tropical arboreal mammals, can also depend on vegetation characteristics within the patch, i.e. patch quality. To test this, we assessed the influence of patch size and quality (measured through six attributes of vegetation structure) on arboreal mammals in 20 forest patches in the Lacandona rainforest – a biodiversity hotspot in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. We placed camera traps in 100 trees and registered arboreal mammals for one year. We used generalized linear models with a multimodel averaging approach and a distance-based redundancy analysis to identify the relative importance of patch size and quality on arboreal mammal diversity and composition. Species diversity was mainly and positively influenced by tree basal area – a vegetation attribute indicative of older and better-preserved forests – while species composition was driven by both patch size and quality. Patch size was negatively related to the abundance of kinkajous and Deppei’s squirrels, likely due to a higher density (and detectability) of individuals in small patches. The abundance of kinkajous and Deppei’s squirrels was lower in patches with higher tree density – an attribute typically related to forest disturbance. Therefore, to effectively preserve this highly endangered and ecologically relevant group of mammals, both patch size and quality should be considered, paying special attention to the conservation of large trees. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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