Does spatial and seasonal variability in fleshy-fruited trees affect fruit availability? A case study in gallery forests of Central Brazil

Darosci, Adriano Antonio; Takahashi, Frederico Scherr Caldeira; Proença, Carolyn Elinore Barnes; Soares-Silva, Lucia Helena; Munhoz, Cássia Beatriz Rodrigues

doi:10.1590/0102-33062020abb0279

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Seasonality and mammal diversity in the MFA: As we hypothesized, detectability was higher during the wet season, when more resources are available (Basset et al, 2015;da Silva et al, 2011;Darosci et al, 2021;Valenzuela & Ceballos 2000). We also observed a seasonal turnover in species, which may be related to food habits and available resources.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Considering that rainfall patterns and tree phenology vary drastically in the studied location, we hypothesized that seasonality affected these animals' diversity and detectability. Since there are more resources available during the wet season (e. g., fruits, insects, and water) (Basset et al, 2015;da Silva et al, 2011;Darosci et al, 2021;Valenzuela & Ceballos 2000), we expected a higher diversity and number of detections of medium and large-sized mammals during this season. However, we expected to find a higher species richness during the dry season, when predators and other large mammals may be detected when traveling long distances in search of resources.…”

Section: Palabras Clavementioning

confidence: 96%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Medium and large-sized mammals in a premontane moist forest fragment, Atenas, Costa Rica

Cambronero

Sánchez-Calderón

Lobo³

2023

Rev. Biol. Trop.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Medium and large-sized mammals are threatened globally due to habitat loss and fragmentation. In Costa Rica, forest fragments that remain outside protected areas may serve as a refuge or corridor for these animals. Mammal presence in fragmented landscapes may be influenced by resource availability, which varies greatly in seasonal regions. Objective: To determine the species richness of medium and large-sized mammals in a forest fragment, and to examine if species diversity and detectability varied between the wet and dry season. Methods: We established 26 camera trap stations throughout the Municipal Forest of Atenas (Alajuela, Costa Rica), a 26.4 ha forest fragment that provides water to about 1 800 people. From August 2021 to April 2022, one camera trap was active at each station for 12-21 days throughout each season (dry and wet), for a total of 810 camera trap days. We applied rarefaction and extrapolation curves to characterize mammal’s species diversity and compare it between seasons. Results: We detected 19 species of mammals. The most frequently detected species were the White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica; 0.254 detections/camera trap day), and the Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata; 0.163 detections/camera trap day). We also registered four species considered as endangered in Costa Rica, three felines: Puma concolor, Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Leopardus pardalis, and the Neotropical River Otter, Lontra longicaudis. Seasonality did not affect species diversity, but it influenced dominant species and detectability, which was greater during the wet season. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates how protecting small forest fragments, can help conserve endangered medium and large-sized mammals in human-dominated landscapes. Objective: We aimed to determine the species richness of medium and large-sized mammals in a forest fragment protected for water production, and to examine if species diversity and detectability varied between the wet and dry season. Methods: We established 26 camera trap stations throughout the Municipal Forest of Atenas (MFA), a 26-ha forest fragment that provides drinking water to about 1 800 people. From August 2021 to April 2022, one camera trap was active at each station for 12-21 days throughout each season (dry and wet), for a total of 810 camera trap days. We applied rarefaction and extrapolation curves to characterize mammal’s species diversity and compare it between seasons. Results: We detected 19 species of medium and large-sized mammals. The species with the highest frequency of detections were the White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica; 0.504 detections/camera trap day), and the Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata; 0.377 detections/camera trap day). We also detected four species considered as endangered in Costa Rica, three felines: Puma concolor, Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Leopardus pardalis, and the Neotropical River Otter, Lontra longicaudis. Seasonality did not affect species diversity but influenced the detectability of dominant species. Discussion: The relatively high richness of mammals observed in the MFA is likely related to the surrounding land use, which is dominated by agroforestry systems (e. g., coffee plantations) and forest patches, that may contribute to animal mobility and serve as refuge in fragmented landscapes. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates how protecting ecosystem services, such as water, may also help conserving endangered medium and large-sized mammals in fragmented landscapes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Palabras Clavementioning

confidence: 96%

Medium and large-sized mammals in a premontane moist forest fragment, Atenas, Costa Rica

Cambronero

Sánchez-Calderón

Lobo³

2023

Rev. Biol. Trop.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other highly abundant species in our samples are common in the Distrito Federal riverine forests ( Clusia cruiva Cambess, Hedyosmum brasiliense Mart. ex Miq., Miconia hirtella Cogn., Piper aduncum L. , Richeria grandi s) 67 – 69 and were only found in our surveys of the riverine forests (Table 1 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Contrasting patterns of foraging behavior in neotropical stingless bees using pollen and honey metabarcoding

Martins,

Proença,

Vasconcelos

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Stingless bees are major flower visitors in the tropics, but their foraging preferences and behavior are still poorly understood. Studying stingless bee interactions with angiosperms is methodologically challenging due to the high tropical plant diversity and inaccessibility of upper canopy flowers in forested habitats. Pollen DNA metabarcoding offers an opportunity of assessing floral visitation efficiently and was applied here to understand stingless bee floral resources spectra and foraging behavior. We analyzed pollen and honey from nests of three distantly related stingless bee species, with different body size and social behavior: Melipona rufiventris, Scaptotrigona postica and Tetragonisca angustula. Simultaneously, we evaluate the local floristic components through seventeen rapid botanical surveys conducted at different distances from the nests. We discovered a broad set of explored floral sources, with 46.3 plant species per bee species in honey samples and 53.67 in pollen samples. Plant families Myrtaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Melastomataceae and Malpighiaceae dominated the records, indicating stingless bee preferences for abundant resources that flowers of these families provide in the region. Results also reinforce the preference of stingless bees for forest trees, even if only available at long distances. Our high-resolution results encourage future bee-plant studies using pollen and honey metabarcoding in hyper-diverse tropical environments.

show abstract

Revealing the Permanent and Transient Plant Understory in Gallery Forests in the Cerrado of Central Brazil

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The understories of tropical forests comprise complex communities and can be divided into permanent understory, where the generally shade-tolerant plant growth forms are less developed in height, and transient understory, where young tree individuals are only temporarily present. Despite a high contribution to species richness in tropical forests, the understory is poorly studied. Here, we examined the species composition, richness, structure, diversity, and the relative contribution of growth forms in permanent and transient understories of gallery forests in the Brazilian Cerrado. A total of 211 species distributed into sixty-seven families and 153 genera were sampled. The most species-rich family was Rubiaceae, and Miconia was the genus with the highest species richness. The species Hildaea pallens had the highest importance in the forests. The best-represented growth forms were tree seedlings, followed by shrubs and lianas. The transient component of the understory in gallery forests was the most diverse. However, in terms of species relative cover, both transient and permanent understory species contributed equally to the understory structure, mainly due to the high cover of Poaceae species. Our study is the first to examine composition, structure, diversity, and growth forms in the permanent and transient understories of gallery forests. Study Implications: Our study is innovative in describing the plant community attributes of gallery forest understories in the Brazilian Cerrado. The understories of tropical forests comprise complex communities and can be divided into permanent and transient understory. The transient component of the understory in gallery forests was the most diverse, represented by seedlings and young tree specimens. However, in terms of species relative cover, both transient and permanent understory species contributed equally to the understory structure. Here, we provide evidence that may be useful to initiatives seeking to conduct ecological restoration and conservation of gallery forests in the Cerrado.

show abstract

Does spatial and seasonal variability in fleshy-fruited trees affect fruit availability? A case study in gallery forests of Central Brazil

Cited by 4 publications

References 41 publications

Medium and large-sized mammals in a premontane moist forest fragment, Atenas, Costa Rica

Medium and large-sized mammals in a premontane moist forest fragment, Atenas, Costa Rica

Contrasting patterns of foraging behavior in neotropical stingless bees using pollen and honey metabarcoding

Revealing the Permanent and Transient Plant Understory in Gallery Forests in the Cerrado of Central Brazil

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About