Absence of edge effect on small mammals in woodland-savannah remnants in Brazil

Nápoli, Rodrigo P.; Cáceres, Nilton C.

doi:10.1556/comec.13.2012.1.2

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…This probably reflects the fact that some small mammal species increase, whereas others decrease in abundance near edges, a common pattern for small mammals (Laurance ; Bowman, Forbesa & Dilworth ; Pardini ; Campbell et al . ; Santos‐Filho, da Silva & Sanaiotti ; Di Napoli & Cáceres ). The similar overall abundance at forest edges and interiors could lead to the conclusion that the small mammal community is generally insensitive to edge effects, with forest edges and interiors providing environments of similar quality, in terms of resources and conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edge effects and geometric constraints: a landscape‐level empirical test

Ribeiro

Prevedello

Delciellos

et al. 2015

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Edge effects are pervasive in landscapes yet their causal mechanisms are still poorly understood. Traditionally, edge effects have been attributed to differences in habitat quality along the edge-interior gradient of habitat patches, under the assumption that no edge effects would occur if habitat quality was uniform. This assumption was questioned recently after the recognition that geometric constraints tend to reduce population abundances near the edges of habitat patches, the so-called geometric edge effect (GEE). Here, we present the first empirical, landscape-level evaluation of the importance of the GEE in shaping abundance patterns in fragmented landscapes. Using a data set on the distribution of small mammals across 18 forest fragments, we assessed whether the incorporation of the GEE into the analysis changes the interpretation of edge effects and the degree to which predictions based on the GEE match observed responses. Quantitative predictions were generated for each fragment using simulations that took into account home range, density and matrix use for each species. The incorporation of the GEE into the analysis changed substantially the interpretation of overall observed edge responses at the landscape scale. Observed abundances alone would lead to the conclusion that the small mammals as a group have no consistent preference for forest edges or interiors and that the black-eared opossum Didelphis aurita (a numerically dominant species in the community) has on average a preference for forest interiors. In contrast, incorporation of the GEE suggested that the small mammal community as a whole has a preference for forest edges, whereas D. aurita has no preference for forest edges or interiors. Unexplained variance in edge responses was reduced by the incorporation of GEE, but remained large, varying greatly on a fragment-by-fragment basis. This study demonstrates how to model and incorporate the GEE in analyses of edge effects and that this incorporation is necessary to properly interpret edge effects in landscapes. It also suggests that geometric constraints alone are unlikely to explain the variability in edge responses of a same species among different areas, highlighting the need to incorporate other ecological factors into explanatory models of edge effects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edge effects and geometric constraints: a landscape‐level empirical test

Ribeiro

Prevedello

Delciellos

et al. 2015

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…As argued by Carmignotto (2005), zoogeographical patterns observed in the Cerrado are related with the distance to adjacent biomes and their contribution to the small mammal assemblages of this biome. For example, group II has great influence of the Amazonia as mentioned above (Lacher and Alho 2001;Carmignotto 2005;Cáceres et al 2008;Bezerra et al 2009;Rocha et al 2011;Santos-Filho et al 2012); group III and sites 20 and 22 have great influence of Pantanal and Chaco, accounting with species such as Thylamys macrurus, Marmosa constantiae and Oligoryzomys chacoensis (Carmignotto 2005;Cáceres et al 2010Cáceres et al , 2011Hannibal and Cáceres 2010;Napoli and Cáceres 2012); group IV accounts with typical and endemic Cerrado species, such as Calomys expulsus, Olygoryzomys moojeni and Rhipidomys macrurus (Mares and Ernest 1995;Bonvicino et al 2002Bonvicino et al , 2005Bonvicino and Bezerra 2003;Carmignotto 2005;Pereira and Geise 2009;Carmignotto and Aires 2011); and finally, group V and site 29 have influence of Atlantic forest, accounting with species such as Marmosops incanus and Philander frenatus (Rodrigues et al 2002;Carmignotto 2005;Paglia et al 2005;Gheler-Costa et al 2012).…”

Section: Zoogeographical Patternsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…This pattern was also reported by BarrosBattesti et al (2000) in isolated remnants of Atlantic Forest. On the other hand, Cáceres et al (2010) argued that marsupials sometimes dominated in abundance or richness in the smaller fragments of woodland and gallery forests in Cerrado, G. agilis being one of the species that contribute to this dominance Napoli and Cáceres 2012). Although G. agilis is an arboreal species, like several other didelphid species (Emmons and Feer 1997), its small size and its broad habitat tolerance make it more adapted to fragmented habitats, such as ipucas.…”

Section: Small Mammal Richness Diversity and Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have been conducted to understand the impact of fragmentation on small mammal communities in Cerrado (e.g. Bonvicino et al 2002;Cáceres et al 2010;Gheler-Costa et al 2012;Napoli and Cáceres 2012), but ecological studies focusing on this group in natural forest fragments, or ipucas, in the Araguaia alluvial plain are lacking. This is still more relevant given the importance of this region, since it was considered a priority area for conservation of the Cerrado biodiversity (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonally flooded stepping stones: emerging diversity of small mammal assemblage in the Amazonia-Cerrado ecotone, central Brazil

et al. 2014

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“…Studies of edge effects on rodents are relatively rare (Delattre et al, 2009) and few studies have directly addressed this issue in Brazil (Napoli & Caceres, 2012). However, for example, Bayne & Hobson (1998) found that the types of habitat surrounding patches affected smallmammal abundance in agricultural edges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of silvicultural landscapes by small mammals in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Uribe¹,

Cristina²

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Use of silvicultural landscapes by small mammals in the state of São Paulo, Brazil Studies in agricultural landscapes have shown that anthropogenic environments may be relevant to wildlife species. Given the extent of these areas efficient research methods are needed to assess its ecological value in terms of local diversity, such as the use of biological indicators. The main goal here was to evaluate the possible relationship between the native vegetation biomass and diversity of small mammals in a silvicultural landscape of São Paulo. The study was developed at Fazenda Três Lagoas, which is part of the "Programa de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade" (PPBio), at Angatuba municipality, State of São Paulo, and lasted nine months. From May 2015 to March 2016 nine sampling campaigns were carried over a grid of 15 pitfall traps, five in Eucalyptus plantations, five in native vegetation and five in abandoned pastures. In the Chapter 1 the distribution and abundance patterns of small mammals on a silvicultural landcape during the early second cycle of Eucalyptus plantation in Southeastern Brazil was evaluated. A total of 672 individuals from 15 species of the orders Rodentia (9 spp.) and Didelphimorphia (6 spp.) were captured and five new species were detected in the study area in comparison to the first cycle. Although these species are predominantly generalists, there were differences in the abundance of small mammals in the three environments. The presence of native vegetation patches associated with riparian areas and abandoned pastures and the role of small mammals as a food resource for predators on a trophic structure, gives a certain conservation value to silvicultural landscapes in southeastern Brazil. In the Chapter 2 the relationship between landscape metrics and patterns of diversity, distribution and abundance of small mammals in a silvicultural landscape were evaluated. The species richness and family diversity of small mammals have been predominantly determined by the percentage of native vegetation. However, the abundance of small mammals can be determined by an indirect estimate of the native vegetation biomass (i.e., NDVI), which can be considered a 3D landscape metric as it is related to volume. Therefore, to succeed in assessing the value of agricultural landscape, future studies should consider landscape context, as well as the landscape metrics associated with geospatial data analysis and the distinct responses of species.

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Absence of edge effect on small mammals in woodland-savannah remnants in Brazil

Cited by 17 publications

References 50 publications

Edge effects and geometric constraints: a landscape‐level empirical test

Edge effects and geometric constraints: a landscape‐level empirical test

Seasonally flooded stepping stones: emerging diversity of small mammal assemblage in the Amazonia-Cerrado ecotone, central Brazil

Use of silvicultural landscapes by small mammals in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

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