Forests Without Frugivores and Frugivores Without Forests – An Investigation Into the Causes of a Paradox in One of the Last Archipelagos Colonized by Humans
| Autor: | Claudine Ah-Peng, Dominique Strasberg, Olivier Flores, Sébastien Albert |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
education.field_of_study
overhunting Extinction biology Mascarene archipelago Ecology Evolution elevational gradients Population Vertebrate biological invasion habitat destruction and fragmentation Frugivore Geography Habitat destruction biodiversity loss Habitat biology.animal Threatened species QH359-425 Mammal education Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics QH540-549.5 |
| Zdroj: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 9 (2021) |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fevo.2021.688768/full |
| Popis: | The Mascarenes are sadly famous worldwide for the massive extinction of their native vertebrates since recent human colonization. However, extinction patterns show astonishing disparities between the two main islands and between lineages of forest vertebrates. On Réunion (2,512 km2, 3,070 m) where about a third of native habitats remains, most large-bodied vertebrates, especially frugivores, collapsed by the first half of the 18th century, while several have survived longer and some still exist on Mauritius (1,865 km2, 828 m) where more than 95% of native habitats have been transformed. Considering lineages of forest vertebrates shared by both islands (23 genera, 53 species), we test the hypothesis that differing patterns of lowland suitable habitat destruction is the main cause behind this paradox. Before that, we assess the potential impact of other major drivers of extinctions since first contact with humans. Firstly, Mauritius shows earlier and more numerous introductions of mammal predators known for their devastating impact (except northern islets which have thus become important sanctuaries for several squamates). Secondly, settlers were inveterate hunters on both islands, but while Réunion was overhunted before Mauritius, the burst of human population in the latter in late 18th century has not led to the rapid extinction of all large native vertebrates. These two factors alone therefore cannot explain the observed paradox. Rather, the early destruction of lowland habitats ( |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|