Habitat fragmentation and primate conservation in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Minas Gerais, Brazil

Ferrari, Stephen F.; Diego, Vânia H.

doi:10.1017/s0030605300021128

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…In Mexico, researchers found that the number and biomass of beetles captured in forest fragments was positively related to howler monkey densities in those fragments (Estrada et al 1999). Also, howler monkeys are probably one of the main seed dispersers in many forest fragments in Central Amazonia (Neves and Rylands 1991) as well as in other Neotropical forests (Galetti et al 1994; Ferrari and Diego 1995; Estrada and Coates‐Estrada 1996). Therefore, howler monkeys in forest fragments are both acting as seed dispersers and they are helping to maintain a healthy dung beetle community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of forest fragmentation on dung beetle communities and functional consequences for plant regeneration

Andresen¹

2003

Ecography

177

126

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Andresen, E. 2003. Effect of forest fragmentation on dung beetle communities and functional consequences for plant regeneration. -Ecography 26: 87 -97.I compared dung beetle communities and assessed some of their functional effects (dung removal, seed burial, seedling establishment) in continuous forest with those in 1-ha and 10-ha forest fragments in Central Amazonia. I followed the fate of seeds until seedling establishment for three native tree species, using clean seeds and seeds surrounded by dung. The 1-ha fragments had half the number of dung beetle species captured in continuous forest and in 10-ha fragments. The continuous forest sites and the 1-ha fragments had similar number of individuals, but in the 10-ha fragments dung beetles were twice as abundant. Mean beetle size increased with increasing forest area. Dung removal and seed burial rates were higher in continuous forest than in forest fragments. Seed predation rates were higher in the forest fragments. In all sites, the proportion of seedlings established from seeds surrounded by dung vs clean seeds was the same, and it was the same in continuous forest vs fragments. When comparing seeds that remained on the forest floor with seeds buried by dung beetles, a higher percentage of seedlings established from the latter. Conservation programs that aim to maintain the regeneration ability of forest fragments must incorporate all the important components involved in seedling establishment; in Central Amazonia these include dung beetles as secondary dispersers. It is important that studies start measuring directly not only the first-order effects of forest fragmentation on species, but also the higher-order functional effects.E. Andresen (andresen@oikos.unam.mx),

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of forest fragmentation on dung beetle communities and functional consequences for plant regeneration

Andresen¹

2003

Ecography

177

126

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“…We often want to know, therefore, how large an area is necessary to avoid certain undesirable consequences; for instance how big should a fragment be in order to avoid excessive edge effects? Studies addressing such questions usually consider a fragment to be an area of forest Ͻ100 km 2 (Laurance et al 2000b); and actual study areas are typically Ͻ10 km 2 (e.g., Ferrari and Diego 1995, Laurance et al 1997, 2000b, Tabarelli et al 1999, Tabanez and Viana 2001. Such studies have shown that even rather large forest fragments (Ն100km 2 ) are not immune from edge effects (Ranta et al 1998, Gascon et al 2000; however, intensive field studies cannot easily be conducted at these larger scales.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore it seems that both population biology and climatology recommend thinking big in tropical forest conservation. Of course conservation strategies are molded by the availability of sites, many of which will be suboptimal in terms of size and condition (Ferrari and Diego 1995); continuous habitat capable of supporting thousands of large vertebrates is scarce (Reed et al 2003); and sometimes large populations do not exist (Atlantic forest examples include golden lion tamarins Leontopithecus rosalia and muriquis Brachyteles arachnoides; Kleiman andMallinson 1998, Strier 2001). In the Atlantic forest, the vast majority of remaining fragments are much smaller than 10 km 2 (Instituto Florestal de São Paulo 1993), and over half of all reserves (of whatever status) are Ͻ5 km 2 (da Silva and Tabarelli 2000), with few exceeding 200 km 2 (Chiarello and de Melo 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest Cover–rainfall Relationships in a Biodiversity Hotspot: The Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Webb

Woodward

Lee

et al. 2005

Ecological Applications

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It is now generally accepted that the relationship between vegetation and climate is dynamic: vegetation is influenced by climate, but feedbacks between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere mean that vegetation also affects climate. From this it follows that land‐use changes may have climatic consequences. Specifically, it is widely believed that forest clearance may inhibit rainfall. Although models often support this view, this is not universally the case, and empirical evidence is scarce. We have compiled a database of forest cover and precipitation for the state of São Paulo, which lies within the diverse and highly endangered Atlantic forest region of Brazil. We do not find a strong relationship between forest cover and total rainfall, which appears to be influenced primarily by factors such as distance to the coast; but significant positive relationships between tree cover and the number of rain days consistently emerge. The degree of forest fragmentation seems to influence this relationship, with patchier forests associated with fewer rain days; and tree cover also predicts interannual variability in rainfall. The directionality of these relationships is inferred by considering only sites which are known to have been forested in the recent past. Given that across São Paulo state there is no overall trend for a reduction in rainfall over the study period (1962–1992), it would appear that important local‐scale processes may be hidden by regional trends. We discuss these results with reference to conservation strategies in fragmented landscapes. For instance, the spatial scale over which tree cover–precipitation relationships occur appears to be somewhat larger than that over which studies of tropical forest fragmentation typically operate, but similar to the area of habitat deemed necessary to maintain viable populations of several Atlantic forest species.

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“…The abundance of small fruits may explain why many migrating bird species frequently use secondary forest (Martin, 1985). However, it is not always clear that secondary forests have more fruit available than mature forest, and some suggest the opposite (Ferrari & Diego, 1995). Other key resources may influence the success with which callitrichids use secondary habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of degraded and shade cocoa forests by Endangered golden-headed lion tamarins Leontopithecus chrysomelas

Raboy

Christman

Dietz

2004

ORX

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Determining habitat requirements for threatened primates is critical to implementing conservation strategies, and plans incorporating metapopulation structure require understanding the potential of available habitats to serve as corridors. We examined how three groups of golden-headed lion tamarins Leontopithecus chrysomelas in Southern Bahia, Brazil, used mature, swamp, secondary and shade cocoa (cabruca) forests. Unlike callitrichids that show affinities for degraded forest, Leontopithecus species are presumed to depend on primary or mature forests for sleeping sites in tree holes and epiphytic bromeliads for animal prey. In this study we quantified resource availability within each habitat, compared the proportion of time spent in each habitat to that based on availability, investigated preferences for sleeping site selection, and determined how goldenheaded lion tamarins allocated time to foraging behaviour in different habitats. Each group preferred to range in certain habitats during the day, yet patterns were not consistent across groups. In contrast, all groups preferred to sleep in mature or cabruca forest. Golden-headed lion tamarins spent a greater proportion of time foraging and eating fruits, flowers and nectar in cabruca than in mature or secondary forests. Although the extent to which secondary and cabruca forests can completely sustain breeding groups is unresolved, we conclude that both habitats would make suitable corridors for the movement of tamarins between forest fragments, and that the large trees remaining in cabruca are important sources of food and sleeping sites. We suggest that management plans for golden-headed lion tamarins should focus on protecting areas that include access to tall forest, either as mature or cabruca, for the long-term conservation of the species.

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Habitat fragmentation and primate conservation in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract: Reduced to a tiny fraction of its original area, much of the Atlantic

Cited by 21 publications

References 14 publications

Effect of forest fragmentation on dung beetle communities and functional consequences for plant regeneration

Effect of forest fragmentation on dung beetle communities and functional consequences for plant regeneration

Forest Cover–rainfall Relationships in a Biodiversity Hotspot: The Atlantic Forest of Brazil

The use of degraded and shade cocoa forests by Endangered golden-headed lion tamarins Leontopithecus chrysomelas

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