Assessing assemblage-wide mammal responses to different types of habitat modification in Amazonian forests

Paula C R Almeida-Maués,Carlos A Peres,Anderson S Bueno,Ana Cristina Mendes-Oliveira,Ana Filipa Palmeirim

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05450-1

Abstract

Tropical forests are being heavily modified by varying intensities of land use ranging from structural degradation to complete conversion. While ecological responses of vertebrate assemblages to habitat modification are variable, such understanding is critical to appropriate conservation planning of anthropogenic landscapes. We assessed the responses of medium/large-bodied mammal assemblages to the ecological impacts of reduced impact logging, secondary regrowth, and eucalyptus and oil palm plantations in Eastern Brazilian Amazonia. We used within-landscape paired baseline-treatment comparisons to examine the impact of different types of habitat modification in relation to adjacent primary forest. We examined assemblage-wide metrics including the total number of species, number of primary forest species retained in modified habitats, abundance, species composition, and community integrity. We ranked all types of habitat modification along a gradient of assemblage-wide impact intensity, with oil palm and eucalyptus plantations exerting the greatest impact, followed by secondary regrowth, and selectively logging. Selectively-logged and secondary forests did not experience discernible biodiversity loss, except for the total number of primary forest species retained. Secondary forests further experienced pronounced species turnover, with loss of community integrity. Considering the biodiversity retention capacity of anthropogenic habitats, this study reinforces the landscape-scale importance of setting aside large preserved areas.

Highlights

Tropical forests are being heavily modified by varying intensities of land use ranging from structural degradation to complete conversion
Habitat loss and degradation are currently the primary drivers of biodiversity loss and species turnover worldwide[1,2]. This is pertinent in tropical forests which harbour the highest levels of biodiversity but have succumbed to the steepest deforestation rates[3], which is illustrated by Amazonian forests[4]
The eucalyptus plantation landscape was further influenced by a large patch of natural scrubland savannah (Cerrado) and primary forest (PF) areas therein are characterized by relatively intact riparian forest h abitats[27]

Summary

Introduction

Tropical forests are being heavily modified by varying intensities of land use ranging from structural degradation to complete conversion. In Amazonian forests, most studies are deployed at the local scale and focus on a single type of disturbance (but s ee6,20), hampering direct comparisons between different forms of human disturbance of varying intensity. Such understanding is more critical than ever due to the unprecedented rates of forest conversion into human-modified land[5], followed by widespread degradation of remaining native forest across the Amazon biome[21]. Medium and large-bodied arboreal species, which often occur at lower densities[22], are expected to be mostly impacted[23]

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Conclusion