Importance of the matrix in determining small-mammal assemblages in an Amazonian forest-savanna mosaic

Borges-Matos, Clarice; Aragón, Susan; Silva, Maria Nazareth Ferreira da; Fortin, Marie‐Josée; Magnusson, William E.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.10.037

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Other studies have shown that the matrix matters more than fragment size for small mammals [8,64]; however, for some Neotropical primates, the pattern is contrary, and fragment size is more important than components in the matrix [7]. Here, we present empirical support to show that in the entire Neotropical region, fragment size is more important than matrix components for primate species.…”

Section: Relationship Between Matrix and Site Attributes And Primate supporting

confidence: 68%

“…We imported the polygons created in Google Earth into QGIS (version 2.14.8-Essen; QGIS Development Team 2014, Essen, Germany), saved them as a shapefile and re-projected all in WGS84 datum in the Universal Transversal Mercator (UTM) coordinate system. We generated a 1-km buffer from the border of the fragment to characterize the matrix within the buffer, a method that has been used for small mammals and primates in Neotropical studies [7,8,64,65]. We selected this buffer size because it is the mean travel distance in the matrix reported for some Neotropical primates [66][67][68].…”

Section: Geographic Information System (Gis) Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a key threat to biodiversity, deforestation is still increasing around the world, leading to reduced species richness and impaired ecosystem functions [2,3]. Habitat fragmentation leads to forest patches of different sizes surrounded by a matrix composed of anthropogenic components [4][5][6][7][8]. Forest patches with remaining populations can suffer local extinctions, as population size alone may not guarantee long-term viability, and organisms may not have the ability to leave the patch and travel through the matrix to colonize other forested areas [3,9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Site Attributes and Matrix Composition on Neotropical Primate Species Richness and Functional Traits: A Comparison Among Regions

2019

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Fragmentation threatens biodiversity and forest-dwelling animals can be especially vulnerable. Neotropical primates inhabit forests and play ecological roles in maintaining forest biodiversity. Currently, many primate communities are restricted to forest fragments. We (1) evaluated the influence of environmental, matrix, and site attributes on species richness and functional traits of primates in the Neotropics; and (2) evaluated the effect of the sub-region on the relationships between primates and environmental, matrix, and site attributes. We conducted literature searches to find published data on primate communities in forest fragments throughout the Neotropics. Each fragment was assigned to 1 of 11 sub-regions: Mesoamerica, Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena, Caribbean, Orinoco, Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Chaco, Andes, Caatinga, and Pampa. Based on actual and expected species occurrences, we calculated the proportion of primate species retained in the fragments, the mass retained, and dietary items retained considering reproductive and vegetative plant parts and prey. We used linear mixed models to correlate primate variables with environmental, matrix, and site attributes. Fragment area was more important for primate retention than environmental, matrix, and site attributes, with primate retention being higher in larger fragments. Fragment size was positively correlated with all primate variables, except for retention of prey consumption, whose retention decreased as water bodies and density of buildings in the matrix increased. Fragments within protected areas retained larger species than unprotected fragments. The proportion of extant mass retained and vegetative plant parts in the diet were highest in Mesoamerica and lowest in the Atlantic Forest. Conservation planning of Neotropical primates should consider both the differences among sub-regions, forest restoration to increase fragment size, and the creation of new protected areas, even in fragmented landscapes.

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Section: Relationship Between Matrix and Site Attributes And Primate supporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Geographic Information System (Gis) Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Site Attributes and Matrix Composition on Neotropical Primate Species Richness and Functional Traits: A Comparison Among Regions

2019

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“…This is also the case of small mammal persistence in other fragmented tropical forest landscapes [53,54], where species continue to occupy small forest patches that are otherwise too small to maintain functionally isolated populations (i.e., when individuals are able to move between patches, also known as the 'rescue effect') [55,56]. In fragmented landscapes, forest patch size is generally more important in explaining species persistence than either isolation [49,57] or matrix habitat quality [15,58]. Yet, some limitations of SARs include the fact that in practice some species may also persist in non-forest areas [59].…”

Section: Forest Area Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marked decline in forest-dependent small mammals following habitat loss and fragmentation in an Amazonian deforestation frontier

2020

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Agricultural frontier expansion into the Amazon over the last four decades has created million hectares of fragmented forests. While many species undergo local extinctions within remaining forest patches, this may be compensated by native species from neighbouring open-habitat areas potentially invading these patches, particularly as forest habitats become increasingly degraded. Here, we examine the effects of habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation on small mammal assemblages in a southern Amazonian deforestation frontier, while accounting for species-specific degree of forest-dependency. We surveyed small mammals at three continuous forest sites and 19 forest patches of different sizes and degrees of isolation. We further sampled matrix habitats adjacent to forest patches, which allowed us to classify each species according to forest-dependency and generate a community-averaged forest-dependency index for each site. Based on 21,568 trap-nights, we recorded 970 small mammals representing 20 species: 12 forest-dependents, 5 matrix-tolerants and 3 open-habitat specialists. Across the gradient of forest patch size, small mammal assemblages failed to show the typical species-area relationship, but this relationship held true when either species abundance or composition was considered. Species composition was further mediated by community-averaged forest-dependency, so that smaller forest patches were occupied by a lower proportion of forest-dependent rodents and marsupials. Both species richness and abundance increased in less isolated fragments surrounded by structurally simplified matrix habitats (e.g. active or abandoned cattle pastures). While shorter distances between forest patches may favour small mammal abundances, forest area and matrix complexity dictated which species could persist within forest fragments according to their degree of forest-dependency. Small mammal local extinctions in small forest patches within Amazonian deforestation frontiers are therefore likely offset by the incursion of open-habitat species. To preclude the dominance of those species, and consequent losses of native species and associated ecosystem functions, management actions should

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“…At the patch scale, habitat patches may become progressively smaller and more isolated, while at a landscape scale, they may disappear altogether (Fahrig, 2003). The occupation of these forest patches by animal populations will depend on the dynamics of the exploitation of the resources available in the patches themselves and the surrounding matrix (Santos, Chiarello, Ribeiro, Ribeiro, & Paglia, 2016), which will influence the resilience of the populations or their susceptibility to extinction (Arroyo-Rodríguez et al, 2017;Borges-Matos, Aragón, Silva, Fortin, & Magnusson, 2016;Brady, McAlpine, Possingham, Miller, & Baxter, 2011). Ultimately, the socioecology of the species may also influence patch occupation patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fragment shape and size, landscape permeability and fragmentation level as predictors of primate occupancy in a region of Brazilian Cerrado

Grande

Alencar

Ribeiro

et al. 2020

Acta Sci. Biol. Sci.

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Human activities result in the formation of a mosaic of forest patches within a non-habitat matrix. The response of the local biodiversity to changes in land-use may occur at different scales. It is important to evaluate the effects of the attributes of both the patches and the surrounding landscape on the occupancy of forest patches by animal populations. Here, we assessed the predictive potential of local (basal area, tree density), patch (size, shape) and landscape scale (total area of forest, number of patches, matrix permeability, patch proximity) variables on the occupancy of forest patches by the syntopic primates Alouatta caraya, Sapajus libidinosus and Callithrix penicillata in the city of Goiânia in the Cerrado region of central Brazil. We used playback to survey primate populations in 22 focal patches and assessed the landscape within a 1000 m buffer zone around each site. In A. caraya, occupancy was influenced by the shape of the focal patches, the amount of forest and fragmentation level of the landscape. Focal patch size and the permeability of the matrix were the principal determinants of the occupancy of S. libidinosus. None of the predictors influenced patch occupancy in C. penicillata, and the structure of the vegetation did not influence occupancy in any of the species. The preservation of as many forest patches as possible, both large and small, as well as gallery forests, and the enhancement of matrix permeability will be essential for the long-term conservation of the syntopic primates of the Cerrado of central Brazil.

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Importance of the matrix in determining small-mammal assemblages in an Amazonian forest-savanna mosaic

Cited by 20 publications

References 48 publications

Effect of Site Attributes and Matrix Composition on Neotropical Primate Species Richness and Functional Traits: A Comparison Among Regions

Effect of Site Attributes and Matrix Composition on Neotropical Primate Species Richness and Functional Traits: A Comparison Among Regions

Marked decline in forest-dependent small mammals following habitat loss and fragmentation in an Amazonian deforestation frontier

Fragment shape and size, landscape permeability and fragmentation level as predictors of primate occupancy in a region of Brazilian Cerrado

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