Abstract
Pineapple crops reduce the size of forest fragments and generate pressure on biodiversity in the remnants. To determine potential negative effects of forest fragmentation we assessed diversity and composition of terrestrial mammals in forest patches on three farms under pineapple crops. We placedSherman and Tomahawk traps, footprints traps near water bodies, and made daily tracks to obtain traces and direct observation of mammals. We identified seven species of wild mammals, mostly omnivorous and under a least concern conservation status. The effect of cover type generated by the pineapple crops is consistent with mammal composition. Pineapple crops could enhance the most common wildlife problems, such as predator-prey relationships. Therefore, pineapple plantations, by causing fragmentation and lack of connectivity among forest patches, threaten extinction of mammals in some of their original range.
Highlights
RESUMEN: Los cultivos de piña reducen el tamaño de los fragmentos de bosque y generan presión sobre la biodiversidad en los remanentes
Pineapple crops reduce the size of forest fragments and generate pressure on biodiversity in the remnants
The effect of cover type generated by the pineapple crops is consistent with mammal composition
Summary
Sitio de estudio: El estudio se llevó a cabo en las piñeras de Dole Fruit Company ubicadas en la finca muelle del distrito de Cutris de San Carlos (10o34 ́54 ́ ́N y 84o26 ́9 ́ ́W), perteneciente a la Región Huetar Norte que es catalogada como bosque muy húmedo premontano transición a basal con una precipitación anual entre los 2 500 a 3 500mm y una temperatura entre los 26 y 30oC (Holdridge, 1987). Dos de los sitios entre cultivo de piña orgánica y uno por cultivo convencional (Fig. 1). Para la captura de roedores u otros mamíferos pequeños se utilizaron 40 trampas Sherman y para mamíferos medianos se utilizaran 20 trampas Tomahawk, las cuales se colocaron en tres parches de bosque dispuestas en transectos lineales tomando de base senderos, cada diez metros eran colocadas dos Tomahawk dispuestas una a cada lado del sendero y una trampa Sherman. Research Journal of the Costa Rican Distance Education University (ISSN: 1659-4266) Vol 7(1): 59-65, Junio, 2015
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