Forest area predicts all dimensions of small mammal and lizard diversity in Amazonian insular forest fragments

Ana Filipa Palmeirim,Carlos A Peres,Fábio Z Farneda,Marcus Vinícius Vieira

doi:10.1007/s10980-021-01311-w

Abstract

ContextAlthough hydropower development is one of the primary drivers of habitat loss and insular fragmentation, its impacts on species identity and their functional and phylogenetic roles have often been overlooked.ObjectivesHere we use an integrative approach, considering taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions at multiple scales, to understand the processes underlying species (dis)assembly of two taxa exhibiting relatively low dispersal ability: small mammals and lizards.MethodsWe surveyed 26 islands within the Balbina Hydroelectric Reservoir, and adjacent continuous forest, in Central Amazonia. Each dimension of diversity was related to spatial and habitat variables. We also examined functional composition using community-weighted mean trait values, and community redundancy using functional uniqueness. β-diversity was partitioned into their richness (βrich) and replacement (βrepl) components.ResultsFunctional and phylogenetic α-diversities of both taxa mirrored the taxonomic dimension, all of which increased with forest area. Individual small mammal (body mass and matrix tolerance), and lizard traits (body length, heliothermic mode and habitat type) were also predicted by forest area. For both groups, functional uniqueness decreased with forest area, and all dimensions of β-diversity were predominantly partitioned in βrich.ConclusionsThe environmental filter created by forest area resulted in the low conservation value associated with small forest islands, only occupied by a small set of species comprised by generalist lizards and matrix-tolerant small mammals. On the other side, large forest sites ensured ecosystem resilience to disturbance. To maintain ecosystem integrity, creating myriad small islands over large expanses of floodwaters should be avoided in future hydropower development.

Highlights

Habitat loss, fragmentation and subsequent degradation are primary drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide (Sala et al 2000; Haddad et al 2015)
The environmental filter created by forest area resulted in the low conservation value associated with small forest islands, only occupied by a small set of species comprised by generalist lizards and matrix-tolerant small mammals
We examined patterns and predictors of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity, functional trait composition and functional redundancy of small mammals and lizard assemblages

Summary

Introduction

Fragmentation and subsequent degradation are primary drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide (Sala et al 2000; Haddad et al 2015). Hydropower development is a major cause of habitat loss and fragmentation, often creating vast archipelagic landscapes, in which forest islands are isolated within a uniformly hostile open-water matrix (Jones et al 2016). In these archipelagic landscapes, island taxa typically experience a novel hyper-disturbance regime, resulting in drastic shifts in species diversity and community composition through species extinction and turnover (Cosson et al 1999; Gibson et al 2013; Benchimol and Peres 2015a). Since functional traits that allow species to persist in the environment tend to be evolutionarily conserved (i.e. positive phylogenetic signal: Safi et al 2011), phylogenetic and functional diversity tend to be correlated (Tucker et al 2018, Rurangwa et al 2021)

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