Aim
Community‐level assessments of how biodiversity responds to disturbance within forest habitats are often biased towards terrestrial‐based surveys. However, recent research suggests that arboreal communities of several indicator groups (ants, amphibians, beetles and butterflies) are more susceptible to human disturbance than their terrestrial counterparts, but what about wildlife at higher trophic levels? We assess responses to disturbance, from forest floor to canopy, of a key conservation flagship group: medium to large rainforest mammals.
Location
The Manu Biosphere Reserve, southeast Peru.
Methods
We deploy both arboreal and terrestrial camera traps to directly compare the response of arboreal and terrestrial mammal communities to rainforest degradation and disturbance.
Results
We show that the arboreal mammal community is more susceptible to habitat disturbance than the terrestrial community. Furthermore, the largest‐bodied arboreal species, which are major seed dispersers, showed the greatest negative response to forest disturbance. The strongest predictors of occupancy probability for arboreal communities were focal tree connectivity and canopy cover, whereas surrounding forest loss and canopy height were there strongest predictors of terrestrial community occupancy, although these also had effects similar in size and magnitude on the arboreal community.
Main conclusions
Conservation conclusions drawn from camera‐based studies focused on the terrestrial realm likely underestimate the impact of rainforest degradation to arboreal communities and on arboreal rainforest biodiversity in general. We highlight the importance of implementing arboreal research methods, capable of investigating conservation implications of anthropogenic disturbance across all vertical strata, for accurate conservation assessments and improving rainforest management and restoration strategies.
Many species of Neotropical frogs have evolved to deposit their tadpoles in small water bodies inside plant structures called phytotelmata. These pools are small enough to exclude large predators but have limited nutrients and high desiccation risk. Here, we explore phytotelm use by three common Neotropical species:
Osteocephalus oophagus
, an arboreal frog that periodically feeds eggs to its tadpoles;
Dendrobates tinctorius,
a tadpole‐transporting poison frog with cannibalistic tadpoles; and
Allobates femoralis,
a terrestrial tadpole‐transporting poison frog with omnivorous tadpoles. We found that
D
.
tinctorius
occupies pools across the chemical and vertical gradient, whereas
A. femoralis
and
O
.
oophagus
appear to have narrower deposition options that are restricted primarily by pool height, water capacity, alkalinity, and salinity.
Dendrobates tinctorius
tadpoles are particularly flexible and can survive in a wide range of chemical, physical, and biological conditions, whereas
O. oophagus
seems to prefer small, clear pools and
A. femoralis
occupies medium‐sized pools with abundant leaf litter and low salinity. Together, these results show the possible niche partitioning of phytotelmata among frogs and provide insight into stressors and resilience of phytotelm breeders.
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