Countryside Biogeography of Neotropical Mammals: Conservation Opportunities in Agricultural Landscapes of Costa Rica

Abstract

The future of mammalian diversity in the tropics depends largely on the conservation value of human-dominated lands. We investigated the distribution of non-flying mammals in five habitats of southern Costa Rica: relatively extensive forest (227 ha), coffee plantation, pasture, coffee with adjacent forest remnant (<35 ha), and pasture with adjacent forest remnant (<35 ha). Of the 26 native species recorded in our study plots, 9 (35%) were restricted to forest habitat, 14 (54%) occurred in both forest and agricultural habitats, and 3 (11%) were found only in agricultural habitats. Species richness and composition varied significantly with habitat type but not with distance from the extensive forest. Interestingly, small forest remnants (<35 ha) contiguous with coffee plantations did not differ from more extensive forest in species richness and were richer than other agricultural habitat types. Small remnants contiguous with pasture were species-poor. When clearing started, the study region likely supported about 60 species. Since then, at least 6 species (10%), one family (4%), and one order (11%) have gone extinct locally. The species that disappeared were the largest in their families and included carnivorous (e.g., jaguar [Panthera onca]), herbivorous (e.g., Baird's tapir, [Tapirus bairdii]), and arboreal (e.g., mantled howler monkey [Alouatta palliata]) species. Although there is no substitute for native forest habitat, the majority of native, nonflying mammal species use countryside habitats. The populations of many persist even >5 km from relatively extensive forest, at least over the 40 years since forest clearance. Moreover, if hunting ceased, we expect that at least one of the locally extinct species could be reestablished in the existing landscape. Thus, there is an important opportunity to maintain and restore the diversity, abundance, and ecosystem roles of mammals in at least some human-dominated regions of the Neotropics. Biogeografía del Campo de Mamíferos Neotropicales: Oportunidades de Conservación en Paisajes Agrícolas de Costa Rica Resumen: El futuro de la diversidad de mamíferos en los trópicos depende principalmente del valor de la conservación de tierras dominadas por actividades humanos. Investigamos la distribución de mamíferos no voladores en cinco hábitats del sur de Costa Rica: selva relativamente extensa (227 ha), plantaciones de café, pastizal, café con remanente de selva adyacente (<35 ha) y pastizal con remanente de bosque adyacente (<35 ha). De las 26 especies nativas registradas en nuestras parcelas de estudio, 9 (35%) estaban restringidas al hábitat de bosque, 14 (54%) ocurrieron tanto en hábitats de bosque como agrícolas, y 3 (11%) solo se encontraron en hábitats agrícolas. La riqueza y composición de especies varió significativamente con el tipo de hábitat pero no con la distancia al bosque extenso. Lo interesante es que las, los remanentes pequeños de §Current address: Daily et al. Countryside Biogeography of Mammals 1815 bosque (<35 ha) contiguos a plantaciones de café no dif...

Diversity, natural history and conservation of amphibians and reptiles from the San Vito Region, southwestern Costa Rica

“…2001, Daily et al 2003, Ricketts 2004, Mayfield and Daily 2005, Pacheco et al 2006. The landscape in the San Vito region originally was dominated by montane and premontane cloud forests, but over the past 40 years the forest has been converted into pastures, crops, and coffee plantations.…”

“…56 (2): 755-778. Epub 2008 June 30.Keywords: Amphibians, reptiles, Costa Rica, San Vito, checklist, habitat fragmentation, conservation.Wildlife inventories are a fundamental tool for conservation because they are the basis for selecting priority sites and for evaluating species conservation status and population extinctions, aid in conservation planning and priority setting and help to identify priority species for conservation action and recovery planning; and support educational programmes (Caughley and Gunn 1996, Daily et al 2003, Baillie et al 2004, Lips et al. 2004, Pineda and Halftter 2004, SantosBarrera & Pacheco 2004, Ramírez-Bautista et al 2006, Urbina-Cardona et al 2006.…”

Mammals of Cabo Blanco: History, diversity, and conservation after 45 years of regrowth of a Costa Rican dry forest

“…There has however, been little documentation of the reestablishment of wildlife populations within areas of regenerating forest anywhere in the tropics. In southern Costa Rica's middle elevation forest, Daily et al (2003) found that many species of mammals persist in small forest patches >5 km from extensive forested areas and that the species to disappear first are the largest members of their families. Diverse and structurally complex dry forests originally occurred on an array of moisture and soil types across Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula (Holdridge, 1967), although the forest had largely disappeared by the late 1970s (Sader and Joyce, 1988).…”

“…In the dry forest of northwestern Costa Rica's Guanacaste lowlands, Sá nchez-Azofeifa et al (2001) estimated that by 1991 only 3% of the closed forest cover remained, the lowest percentage of any forest type in the country. Although deforestation, habitat fragmentation, intensive agriculture, and illegal hunting continue to occur (Carrillo et al, 2000;Daily et al, 2003;Timm and LaVal, 2000;Quesada and Stoner, 2004;Stoner and Timm, 2004), certain large areas previously logged or cultivated are being allowed to regenerate, and in some areas are being actively managed. There has however, been little documentation of the reestablishment of wildlife populations within areas of regenerating forest anywhere in the tropics.…”

Trees in the Agricultural Matrix: Reforestation Processes in a Tropical Dry Landscape in Chinandega, Nicaragua

“…While conservation of forests should be encouraged, efforts must recognize the growth of human-dominated lands and look to work within these areas to promote forest restoration, providing habitat for at least some forest species, and enrichment of agricultural landscapes with trees (Daily et al 2003). Current reserves are being encroached upon by the rapidly expanding agricultural frontier, a trend that will continue to intensify as food demand increases (Godfray et al 2010).…”