Poachers Alter Mammal Abundance, Seed Dispersal, and Seed Predation in a Neotropical Forest

Wright, S. Joseph; Zeballos, Horacio; Domínguez, Iván; Gallardo, Marina M.; Moreno, Marta C.; Ibáñez, Roberto

doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.98333.x

Cited by 295 publications

(389 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…In conclusion, our results support the hypothesis that a forest empty of large seed dispersers is likely to face drastic changes in tree community over the next few tree generations [5,13,30,67]. The predicted future state is a forest with few, if any, large-seeded species dispersed by primates.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests

et al. 2013

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To assess ecological consequences of bushmeat hunting in African lowland rainforests, we compared paired sites, with high and low hunting pressure, in three areas of southeastern Nigeria. In hunted sites, populations of important seed dispersers-both small and large primates (including the Cross River gorilla, Gorilla gorilla diehli)-were drastically reduced. Large rodents were more abundant in hunted sites, even though they are hunted. Hunted and protected sites had similar mature tree communities dominated by primate-dispersed species. In protected sites, seedling communities were similar in composition to the mature trees, but in hunted sites species with other dispersal modes dominated among seedlings. Seedlings emerging 1 year after clearing of all vegetation in experimental plots showed a similar pattern to the standing seedlings. This study thus verifies the transforming effects of bushmeat hunting on plant communities of tropical forests and is one of the first studies to do so for the African continent.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests

et al. 2013

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“…We therefore have a poor understanding of direct effects of diversity within higher trophic levels or the indirect, cascading effects of biodiversity loss across tropic levels (but see [14]). There is mounting evidence that changes in forest vertebrate communities can lead to direct top-down consequences for plant demography, community composition and diversity [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], with knock-on effects for forest services and resilience [23,24]. However, because the indirect, multitrophic consequences of changing mammal communities are rarely experimentally tested, we have limited understanding of the ecosystem-wide consequences of anthropogenic impacts on tropical forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The value of trophic interactions for ecosystem function: dung beetle communities influence seed burial and seedling recruitment in tropical forests

et al. 2016

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Anthropogenic activities are causing species extinctions, raising concerns about the consequences of changing biological communities for ecosystem functioning. To address this, we investigated how dung beetle communities influence seed burial and seedling recruitment in the Brazilian Amazon. First, we conducted a burial and retrieval experiment using seed mimics. We found that dung beetle biomass had a stronger positive effect on the burial of large than small beads, suggesting that anthropogenic reductions in large-bodied beetles will have the greatest effect on the secondary dispersal of large-seeded plant species. Second, we established mesocosm experiments in which dung beetle communities buried Myrciaria dubia seeds to examine plant emergence and survival. Contrary to expectations, we found that beetle diversity and biomass negatively influenced seedling emergence, but positively affected the survival of seedlings that emerged. Finally, we conducted germination trials to establish the optimum burial depth of experimental seeds, revealing a negative relationship between burial depth and seedling emergence success. Our results provide novel evidence that seed burial by dung beetles may be detrimental for the emergence of some seed species. However, we also detected positive impacts of beetle activity on seedling recruitment, which are probably because of their influence on soil properties. Overall, this study provides new evidence that anthropogenic impacts on dung beetle communities could influence the structure of tropical forests; in particular, their capacity to regenerate and continue to provide valuable functions and services.

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“…(Hess 1994;Wright et al 2000). We investigated the extent to 69 which pacas make use of marginal habitat so that we can better understand the potential for 70 population connectivity, and the associated threats to continued connectivity.…”

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Ranging behavior and habitat selection of pacas (Cuniculus paca) in central Belize

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et al. 2016

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Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA (BJH and RJF) Habitat loss and fragmentation present major challenges for wildlife conservation since 19 connectivity between suitable habitat patches is needed for dispersal, allowing for genetic forested habitat patches. In the context of connectivity, marginal habitat for a species can be 39 defined as habitat that the species traverses or occupies at low densities between optimal patches. 40Connectivity is important for wildlife on 2 scales: 1) individuals of wide-ranging species must 41 move through marginal habitat to reach optimal habitat patches, for example jaguars (Panthera been suggested that pacas tend to be more patchily distributed in mosaic landscapes with 60 scattered resources (Marcus 1984; Beck-King et al. 1999;Ulloa et al. 1999). (Hess 1994;Wright et al. 2000). We investigated the extent to 69 which pacas make use of marginal habitat so that we can better understand the potential for 70 population connectivity, and the associated threats to continued connectivity. This study is the 71 first to document home ranges and habitat selection of pacas outside a state-recognized and 72 established protected area. 73 MATERIAL AND METHODS 74Study area.-The study site was located in the Central Belize Corridor, a human- 149 RESULTS 150Trapping and radio telemetry.-Six adult pacas (4 males and 2 females) were collared and 151 tracked over a 2-year period, yielding 982 reliable locations. We subsampled these to 267 152 independent animal locations, mainly in the wet seasons (91%), and the remainder in the early or Pacas had 95 % kernel home ranges of 68.8 to 212.7 ha (X ഥ = 130.6 ± 51.8 SD, n = 6). 155Males had 95 % kernel home ranges of 117.6 to 212.7 ha (X ഥ = 161.5 ± 39.3 SD, n = 4), whereas 156 both females had 95 % kernel home ranges of 68.8 ha (X ഥ = 68.8 ± 0 SD, n = 2; Fig. 2). The mean 157 home range of a male was approximately 2.3 times larger than the mean home range of a female 158 (t = 4.7, d.f. = 3, P < 0.05). Males had core areas (50% kernel area) of 18.1 to 43.2 ha (X ഥ = 31.8 ± 159 9.0 SD, n = 4) and females had core areas of 10.3 to 13 ha (X ഥ = 11.6 ± 1.4 SD, n = 2). The mean 160 core area of males was 2.7 times larger than that of females (t = 3.7, d.f. = 3.4, P < 0.05). MCPs 161 of males ranged from 87.5 to 204.9 ha (X ഥ = 134.7 ± 43.1 SD, n = 4) and MCPs of females from 162 50.7 to 86.7 ha (X ഥ = 68.7 ± 18 SD, n = 2). 163Habitat use and selection.-The proportion of habitats within the home ranges of the pacas 164 was a non-random subset of proportions of available habitats in the study area (second order 165 habitat selection randomization test, Λ = 0.0004, P < 0.05). On average, 46 % of the habitat 166 within the home ranges was savannah with dense trees, whereas this habitat type comprised only 167 15 % of the vegetation cover in the overall study area (Table 2). Thirty-six percent of the habitat 168 in the home ranges was short grass savannah with scattered trees and shrubs; this habitat covered 169 44 % of the entire study area...

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Poachers Alter Mammal Abundance, Seed Dispersal, and Seed Predation in a Neotropical Forest

Cited by 295 publications

References 28 publications

Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests

Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests

The value of trophic interactions for ecosystem function: dung beetle communities influence seed burial and seedling recruitment in tropical forests

Ranging behavior and habitat selection of pacas (Cuniculus paca) in central Belize

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