Human disturbance modifies the identity and interaction strength of mammals that consume Attalea butyracea fruit in a neotropical forest

C M Delgado-Martínez,E Mendoza

doi:10.32800/abc.2022.45.0013

Abstract

Habitat loss and hunting are important drivers of mammal defaunation, affecting not only species presence but also their ecological roles. Frugivory is a key biotic interaction in the tropics due to its wide representation among mammals and its effects on forest dynamics. We assessed how human disturbance affects interactions between mammalian frugivores and Attalea butyracea fruit deposited on the forest floor by comparing visits to palms at two sites with contrasting levels of human disturbance (non–disturbed vs. disturbed sites) in the Lacandon rainforest in southern Mexico. Using camera traps, we recorded mammal species interacting with fruit and estimated their interaction strength. The frugivore ensemble was richer in the non–disturbed forest (nine species) than in the disturbed forest (four species), which lacked the largest body–sized mammals. Large–bodied mammals showed a stronger interaction with fruit in terms of the frequency and length of their visits. Our study highlights the need to undertake conservation actions not only to ensure that the species are maintained in disturbed forests but also to ensure that their biotic interactions remain unchanged.

Highlights

Frugivory by mammals is a characteristic and widespread ecological interaction in the tropics (Jordano, 2014)
We addressed the following questions: (1) how does anthropogenic disturbance affect species richness and composition of the ensemble of mammalian frugivores that interact with A. butyracea fruit?; and (2) how does this disturbance modify the strength of the interaction that different mammalian species have with A. butyracea fruit? We expected to find a richer ensemble of mammals and more intense frugivory interactions in the non–disturbed forest that is associated with the presence of larger–bodied mammals
We found that human disturbance is reducing the species richness of mammals that interact with Attalea fruit in the disturbed forest

Summary

Introduction

Frugivory by mammals is a characteristic and widespread ecological interaction in the tropics (Jordano, 2014). Major negative impacts of these threats concentrate on medium and large–bodied/specialist mammalian species while small–bodied/generalist species seem to deal better with human impacts (Vidal et al, 2013; Carreira et al, 2020). Such impacts affects various components of the frugivory interaction, such as visitation rates and the number of fruits and seeds removed (Markl et al, 2012; Fontúrbel et al, 2015). Most evidence comes from the study of interactions that occur in the canopy forest, while comparatively less attention has been paid to assessing the anthropogenic impact on the interactions between mammals and the fruit deposited on the forest floor

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