1
|
Ewers RM, Orme CDL, Pearse WD, Zulkifli N, Yvon-Durocher G, Yusah KM, Yoh N, Yeo DCJ, Wong A, Williamson J, Wilkinson CL, Wiederkehr F, Webber BL, Wearn OR, Wai L, Vollans M, Twining JP, Turner EC, Tobias JA, Thorley J, Telford EM, Teh YA, Tan HH, Swinfield T, Svátek M, Struebig M, Stork N, Sleutel J, Slade EM, Sharp A, Shabrani A, Sethi SS, Seaman DJI, Sawang A, Roxby GB, Rowcliffe JM, Rossiter SJ, Riutta T, Rahman H, Qie L, Psomas E, Prairie A, Poznansky F, Pillay R, Picinali L, Pianzin A, Pfeifer M, Parrett JM, Noble CD, Nilus R, Mustaffa N, Mullin KE, Mitchell S, Mckinlay AR, Maunsell S, Matula R, Massam M, Martin S, Malhi Y, Majalap N, Maclean CS, Mackintosh E, Luke SH, Lewis OT, Layfield HJ, Lane-Shaw I, Kueh BH, Kratina P, Konopik O, Kitching R, Kinneen L, Kemp VA, Jotan P, Jones N, Jebrail EW, Hroneš M, Heon SP, Hemprich-Bennett DR, Haysom JK, Harianja MF, Hardwick J, Gregory N, Gray R, Gray REJ, Granville N, Gill R, Fraser A, Foster WA, Folkard-Tapp H, Fletcher RJ, Fikri AH, Fayle TM, Faruk A, Eggleton P, Edwards DP, Drinkwater R, Dow RA, Döbert TF, Didham RK, Dickinson KJM, Deere NJ, de Lorm T, Dawood MM, Davison CW, Davies ZG, Davies RG, Dančák M, Cusack J, Clare EL, Chung A, Chey VK, Chapman PM, Cator L, Carpenter D, Carbone C, Calloway K, Bush ER, Burslem DFRP, Brown KD, Brooks SJ, Brasington E, Brant H, Boyle MJW, Both S, Blackman J, Bishop TR, Bicknell JE, Bernard H, Basrur S, Barclay MVL, Barclay H, Atton G, Ancrenaz M, Aldridge DC, Daniel OZ, Reynolds G, Banks-Leite C. Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate. Nature 2024:10.1038/s41586-024-07657-w. [PMID: 39020163 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07657-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024]
Abstract
Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity2,3, so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value4. Here we present empirically defined thresholds for categorizing the conservation value of logged forests, using one of the most comprehensive assessments of taxon responses to habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed the impact of logging intensity on the individual occurrence patterns of 1,681 taxa belonging to 86 taxonomic orders and 126 functional groups in Sabah, Malaysia. Our results demonstrate the existence of two conservation-relevant thresholds. First, lightly logged forests (<29% biomass removal) retain high conservation value and a largely intact functional composition, and are therefore likely to recover their pre-logging values if allowed to undergo natural regeneration. Second, the most extreme impacts occur in heavily degraded forests with more than two-thirds (>68%) of their biomass removed, and these are likely to require more expensive measures to recover their biodiversity value. Overall, our data confirm that primary forests are irreplaceable5, but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Ewers
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK.
| | - C David L Orme
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - William D Pearse
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Nursyamin Zulkifli
- Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan, Malaysia
| | | | - Kalsum M Yusah
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, London, UK
| | - Natalie Yoh
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Darren C J Yeo
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Anna Wong
- Malaysian Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Joseph Williamson
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Clare L Wilkinson
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Fabienne Wiederkehr
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Institute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Bruce L Webber
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Floreat, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Oliver R Wearn
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Fauna & Flora International, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Leona Wai
- Danau Girang Field Centre, Kinabatangan, Malaysia
| | - Maisie Vollans
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Joshua P Twining
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Edgar C Turner
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Zoology, The David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Joseph A Tobias
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Jack Thorley
- Department of Zoology, The David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Yit Arn Teh
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Heok Hui Tan
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Tom Swinfield
- Department of Zoology, The David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Martin Svátek
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Matthew Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Nigel Stork
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jani Sleutel
- Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Eleanor M Slade
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Adam Sharp
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Conservation & Fisheries Directorate, Ascension Island Government, Georgetown, St Helena Island
| | - Adi Shabrani
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
- WWF-Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Sarab S Sethi
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Dave J I Seaman
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Anati Sawang
- South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Danum Valley Field Centre, Lahad Datu, Malaysia
- Sabah State Museum, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Gabrielle Briana Roxby
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | | | - Stephen J Rossiter
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Terhi Riutta
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Homathevi Rahman
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Lan Qie
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - Elizabeth Psomas
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Oxitec, Abingdon, UK
| | - Aaron Prairie
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Frederica Poznansky
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Rajeev Pillay
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Lorenzo Picinali
- Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Annabel Pianzin
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | | | - Ciar D Noble
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Reuben Nilus
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Nazirah Mustaffa
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Katherine E Mullin
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Simon Mitchell
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Amelia R Mckinlay
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Sarah Maunsell
- School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Radim Matula
- Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michael Massam
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Stephanie Martin
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Field Programmes Department, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, La Profonde Rue, Jersey
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Noreen Majalap
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Catherine S Maclean
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Emma Mackintosh
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Forest Research Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sarah H Luke
- Department of Zoology, The David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Harry J Layfield
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Isolde Lane-Shaw
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Wood and Forest Science, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
| | - Boon Hee Kueh
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Pavel Kratina
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Oliver Konopik
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Wuerzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Roger Kitching
- School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Lois Kinneen
- School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Sustainable Land Management, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Victoria A Kemp
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Palasiah Jotan
- Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Nick Jones
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Evyen W Jebrail
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Michal Hroneš
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Sui Peng Heon
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Danum Valley Field Centre, Lahad Datu, Malaysia
| | - David R Hemprich-Bennett
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Jessica K Haysom
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Martina F Harianja
- Department of Zoology, The David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jane Hardwick
- School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Marine Resources Unit, Department of Environment, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
| | - Nichar Gregory
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- EcoHealth Alliance, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ryan Gray
- South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Danum Valley Field Centre, Lahad Datu, Malaysia
| | - Ross E J Gray
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Natasha Granville
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Richard Gill
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Adam Fraser
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - William A Foster
- Department of Zoology, The David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Hollie Folkard-Tapp
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Robert J Fletcher
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Arman Hadi Fikri
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Tom M Fayle
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Aisyah Faruk
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst, Haywards Heath, UK
| | - Paul Eggleton
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum London, London, UK
| | - David P Edwards
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Rosie Drinkwater
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Rory A Dow
- Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Malaysia
- Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Timm F Döbert
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Floreat, Western Australia, Australia
- Faculty of Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Raphael K Didham
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Floreat, Western Australia, Australia
| | | | - Nicolas J Deere
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Tijmen de Lorm
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Mahadimenakbar M Dawood
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Charles W Davison
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Zoe G Davies
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Richard G Davies
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Martin Dančák
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jeremy Cusack
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Okala, London, UK
| | - Elizabeth L Clare
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Arthur Chung
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Vun Khen Chey
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Philip M Chapman
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- BSG Ecology, Witney, UK
| | - Lauren Cator
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Daniel Carpenter
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum London, London, UK
| | - Chris Carbone
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
| | - Kerry Calloway
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum London, London, UK
| | - Emma R Bush
- Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Keiron D Brown
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum London, London, UK
| | - Stephen J Brooks
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum London, London, UK
| | - Ella Brasington
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Hayley Brant
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Michael J W Boyle
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Sabine Both
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Joshua Blackman
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Tom R Bishop
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Jake E Bicknell
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Saloni Basrur
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | | | - Holly Barclay
- School of Science, Monash University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
| | - Georgina Atton
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Marc Ancrenaz
- Borneo Futures, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
- Kinabatangan Orang-Utan Conservation Programme, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - David C Aldridge
- Department of Zoology, The David Attenborough Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Olivia Z Daniel
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Glen Reynolds
- South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Danum Valley Field Centre, Lahad Datu, Malaysia
| | - Cristina Banks-Leite
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Suraweera C, Gallo J, Vacek Z, Cukor J, Vacek S, Baláš M. Silvicultural Practices for Diversity Conservation and Invasive Species Suppression in Forest Ecosystems of the Bundala National Park, Sri Lanka. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 13:121. [PMID: 38202429 PMCID: PMC10780521 DOI: 10.3390/plants13010121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Forest ecosystems in Sri Lanka are under pressure from intensive human activity and climate change. Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to autochthonous species and ecosystems. In Bundala National Park of Sri Lanka, there are efforts to control and limit the spreading of unwanted invasive Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. and Opuntia dillenii (Ker-Gawl.) Haw., which poses a significant risk to natural ecosystem conservation. Nine different treatment variants (four replications) were used to test which management approach provides the control of Prosopis juliflora. This research is based on nine repeated measurements from 2017 to 2021 on 36 permanent research plots (each 625 m2) with 27 observed plant species and a total of 90,651 recorded plant individuals. The results confirmed that the dynamics of species richness, heterogeneity, and evenness showed significant differences between treatments during the five years of dynamics. The lowest species diversity was found in the control variant, followed by treatments based on the hard pruning and thinning of Prosopis juliflora trees. In contrast, strategies emphasizing the complete uprooting of Prosopis juliflora trees, replanting, and support of the natural regeneration of native species showed high species diversity and a high overall number of plant species. Generally, treatments had a significant effect on species diversity and the number of individuals of Prosopis juliflora, while changes in the overall number of plant species were more affected by time and succession. Silvicultural treatments including pruning, uprooting, and thinning have proven to be essential tools for nature conservation across various sites, aimed at enhancing habitat diversity in the face of ongoing climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Channa Suraweera
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (C.S.); (Z.V.); (J.C.); (S.V.); (M.B.)
| | - Josef Gallo
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (C.S.); (Z.V.); (J.C.); (S.V.); (M.B.)
| | - Zdeněk Vacek
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (C.S.); (Z.V.); (J.C.); (S.V.); (M.B.)
| | - Jan Cukor
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (C.S.); (Z.V.); (J.C.); (S.V.); (M.B.)
- Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, v.v.i., Strnady 136, 252 02 Jíloviště, Czech Republic
| | - Stanislav Vacek
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (C.S.); (Z.V.); (J.C.); (S.V.); (M.B.)
| | - Martin Baláš
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (C.S.); (Z.V.); (J.C.); (S.V.); (M.B.)
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang B, Fischer FJ, Coomes DA, Jucker T. Logging leaves a fingerprint on the number, size, spatial configuration and geometry of tropical forest canopy gaps. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Beibei Zhang
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
| | | | - David A. Coomes
- Conservation Research Institute University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Malhi Y, Riutta T, Wearn OR, Deere NJ, Mitchell SL, Bernard H, Majalap N, Nilus R, Davies ZG, Ewers RM, Struebig MJ. Logged tropical forests have amplified and diverse ecosystem energetics. Nature 2022; 612:707-713. [PMID: 36517596 PMCID: PMC9771799 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05523-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Old-growth tropical forests are widely recognized as being immensely important for their biodiversity and high biomass1. Conversely, logged tropical forests are usually characterized as degraded ecosystems2. However, whether logging results in a degradation in ecosystem functions is less clear: shifts in the strength and resilience of key ecosystem processes in large suites of species have rarely been assessed in an ecologically integrated and quantitative framework. Here we adopt an ecosystem energetics lens to gain new insight into the impacts of tropical forest disturbance on a key integrative aspect of ecological function: food pathways and community structure of birds and mammals. We focus on a gradient spanning old-growth and logged forests and oil palm plantations in Borneo. In logged forest there is a 2.5-fold increase in total resource consumption by both birds and mammals compared to that in old-growth forests, probably driven by greater resource accessibility and vegetation palatability. Most principal energetic pathways maintain high species diversity and redundancy, implying maintained resilience. Conversion of logged forest into oil palm plantation results in the collapse of most energetic pathways. Far from being degraded ecosystems, even heavily logged forests can be vibrant and diverse ecosystems with enhanced levels of ecological function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Terhi Riutta
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Oliver R Wearn
- Fauna & Flora International, Vietnam Programme, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Nicolas J Deere
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Simon L Mitchell
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Noreen Majalap
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Reuben Nilus
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Zoe G Davies
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Robert M Ewers
- Georgina Mace Centre, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Richardson J, Lees AC, Marsden S. Landscape -scale predictors of persistence of an urban stock dove Columba oenas population. Urban Ecosyst 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-022-01283-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractWhile a few species may thrive in urban areas, urban expansion is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Columbids such as feral Rock Doves (Columba livia domestica) and Common Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) have adapted extremely well to the urban environment in Europe and beyond, but the Stock Dove (Columba oenas), a bird of farmland and woodland edge in the UK and of national conservation concern, is encountered infrequently in urban areas. Here we explore the multi-scale landscape associations of the little-studied Stock Dove within the urban matrix of Greater Manchester, UK, in order to identify its habitat requirements. We built a pilot model from historical citizen science records to identify potentially occupied sites within the city, and then surveyed these sites for Stock Dove during Spring 2019. We combined the survey results with citizen science records from the same period and described the habitat and landscape characteristics of sites occupied by Stock Dove using four variables at different scales plus twelve unscaled variables. We used a three-stage random forest approach to identify a subset of these variables for interpretation and a subset for prediction for the presence of Stock Dove within these sites. Key variables for predicting Stock Dove presence were their relative abundance in the landscape immediately beyond the core urban area, the greenness (NDVI) of the environment around sites, and the canopy cover of individual trees over 20 m high within sites. Stock Doves tended to be associated with habitats with more surface water during the non-breeding season than the breeding season. Our results highlight the importance of large trees within urban greenspace for this cavity-nesting species, softer boundaries around urban sites for Stock Doves and stock dove presence in nearby areas. While Stock Dove share many traits with species that are successful in the urban environment, they remain relatively poor urban adapters.
Collapse
|
6
|
Marsh CD, Hill RA, Nowak MG, Hankinson E, Abdullah A, Gillingham P, Korstjens AH. Measuring and modelling microclimatic air temperature in a historically degraded tropical forest. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2022; 66:1283-1295. [PMID: 35357567 PMCID: PMC9132844 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-022-02276-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2021] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is predicted to cause widespread disruptions to global biodiversity. Most climate models are at the macroscale, operating at a ~ 1 km resolution and predicting future temperatures at 1.5-2 m above ground level, making them unable to predict microclimates at the scale that many organisms experience temperature. We studied the effects of forest structure and vertical position on microclimatic air temperature within forest canopy in a historically degraded tropical forest in Sikundur, Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. We collected temperature measurements in fifteen plots over 20 months, alongside vegetation structure data from the same fifteen 25 × 25 m plots. We also performed airborne surveys using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to record canopy structure remotely, both over the plot locations and a wider area. We hypothesised that old-growth forest structure would moderate microclimatic air temperature. Our data showed that Sikundur is a thermally dynamic environment, with simultaneously recorded temperatures at different locations within the canopy varying by up to ~ 15 °C. Our models (R2 = 0.90 to 0.95) showed that temperature differences between data loggers at different sites were largely determined by variation in recording height and the amount of solar radiation reaching the topmost part of the canopy, although strong interactions between these abiotic factors and canopy structure shaped microclimate air temperature variation. The impacts of forest degradation have smaller relative influence on models of microclimatic air temperature than abiotic factors, but the loss of canopy density increases temperature. This may render areas of degraded tropical forests unsuitable for some forest-dwelling species with the advent of future climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D Marsh
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK.
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
| | - Ross A Hill
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | - Matthew G Nowak
- The PanEco Foundation - Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, Chileweg 5, Berg Am Irchel, Switzerland
- Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
| | - Emma Hankinson
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | - Abdullah Abdullah
- Department of Biology, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia
| | - Phillipa Gillingham
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | - Amanda H Korstjens
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Using Airborne Laser Scanning to Characterize Land-Use Systems in a Tropical Landscape Based on Vegetation Structural Metrics. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13234794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Many Indonesian forests have been cleared and replaced by fast-growing cash crops (e.g., oil palm and rubber plantations), altering the vegetation structure of entire regions. Complex vegetation structure provides habitat niches to a large number of native species. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) can provide detailed three-dimensional information on vegetation structure. Here, we investigate the potential of ALS metrics to highlight differences across a gradient of land-use management intensities in Sumatra, Indonesia. We focused on tropical rainforests, jungle rubber, rubber plantations, oil palm plantations and transitional lands. Twenty-two ALS metrics were extracted from 183 plots. Analysis included a principal component analysis (PCA), analysis of variance (ANOVAs) and random forest (RF) characterization of the land use/land cover (LULC). Results from the PCA indicated that a greater number of canopy gaps are associated with oil palm plantations, while a taller stand height and higher vegetation structural metrics were linked with rainforest and jungle rubber. A clear separation in metrics performance between forest (including rainforest and jungle rubber) and oil palm was evident from the metrics pairwise comparison, with rubber plantations and transitional land behaving similar to forests (rainforest and jungle rubber) and oil palm plantations, according to different metrics. Lastly, two RF models were carried out: one using all five land uses (5LU), and one using four, merging jungle rubber with rainforest (4LU). The 5LU model resulted in a lower overall accuracy (51.1%) due to mismatches between jungle rubber and forest, while the 4LU model resulted in a higher accuracy (72.2%). Our results show the potential of ALS metrics to characterize different LULCs, which can be used to track changes in land use and their effect on ecosystem functioning, biodiversity and climate.
Collapse
|
8
|
Ong XR, Hemprich‐Bennett D, Gray CL, Kemp V, Chung AYC, Slade EM. Trap type affects dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity in Bornean tropical forests. AUSTRAL ECOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.13124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xin Rui Ong
- Asian School of the Environment Nanyang Technological University 50 Nanyang Avenue Singapore 639798 Singapore
| | - David Hemprich‐Bennett
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford 11a Mansfield Road Oxford OX1 3SZ UK
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS UK
| | - Claudia L. Gray
- Conservation and Policy Zoological Society of London Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY UK
| | - Victoria Kemp
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS UK
| | - Arthur Y. C. Chung
- Forest Research Centre Forestry Department P.O. Box 1407 Sandakan 90715 Malaysia
| | - Eleanor M. Slade
- Asian School of the Environment Nanyang Technological University 50 Nanyang Avenue Singapore 639798 Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Hemprich-Bennett DR, Kemp VA, Blackman J, Lewis OT, Struebig MJ, Bernard H, Kratina P, Rossiter SJ, Clare EL. Selective Logging Shows No Impact on the Dietary Breadth of a Generalist Bat Species: The Fawn Leaf-Nosed Bat (Hipposideros cervinus). Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.750269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Logging activities degrade forest habitats across large areas of the tropics, but the impacts on trophic interactions that underpin forest ecosystems are poorly understood. DNA metabarcoding provides an invaluable tool to investigate such interactions, allowing analysis at a far greater scale and resolution than has previously been possible. We analysed the diet of the insectivorous fawn leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros cervinus across a forest disturbance gradient in Borneo, using a dataset of ecological interactions from an unprecedented number of bat-derived faecal samples. Bats predominantly consumed insects from the orders Lepidoptera, Diptera, Blattodea, and Coleoptera, and the taxonomic composition of their diet remained relatively consistent across sites regardless of logging disturbance. There was little difference in the richness of prey consumed per-bat in each logging treatment, indicating potential resilience of this species to habitat degradation. In fact, bats consumed a high richness of prey items, and intensive sampling is needed to reliably compare feeding ecology over multiple sites. Multiple bioinformatic parameters were used, to assess how they altered our perception of sampling completeness. While parameter choice altered estimates of completeness, a very high sampling effort was always required to detect the entire prey community.
Collapse
|
10
|
Heath BE, Sethi SS, Orme CDL, Ewers RM, Picinali L. How index selection, compression, and recording schedule impact the description of ecological soundscapes. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:13206-13217. [PMID: 34646463 PMCID: PMC8495811 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Acoustic indices derived from environmental soundscape recordings are being used to monitor ecosystem health and vocal animal biodiversity. Soundscape data can quickly become very expensive and difficult to manage, so data compression or temporal down-sampling are sometimes employed to reduce data storage and transmission costs. These parameters vary widely between experiments, with the consequences of this variation remaining mostly unknown.We analyse field recordings from North-Eastern Borneo across a gradient of historical land use. We quantify the impact of experimental parameters (MP3 compression, recording length and temporal subsetting) on soundscape descriptors (Analytical Indices and a convolutional neural net derived AudioSet Fingerprint). Both descriptor types were tested for their robustness to parameter alteration and their usability in a soundscape classification task.We find that compression and recording length both drive considerable variation in calculated index values. However, we find that the effects of this variation and temporal subsetting on the performance of classification models is minor: performance is much more strongly determined by acoustic index choice, with Audioset fingerprinting offering substantially greater (12%-16%) levels of classifier accuracy, precision and recall.We advise using the AudioSet Fingerprint in soundscape analysis, finding superior and consistent performance even on small pools of data. If data storage is a bottleneck to a study, we recommend Variable Bit Rate encoded compression (quality = 0) to reduce file size to 23% file size without affecting most Analytical Index values. The AudioSet Fingerprint can be compressed further to a Constant Bit Rate encoding of 64 kb/s (8% file size) without any detectable effect. These recommendations allow the efficient use of restricted data storage whilst permitting comparability of results between different studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Becky E. Heath
- Dyson School of Design EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
- Department of Life SciencesImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Sarab S. Sethi
- Dyson School of Design EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
- Department of Life SciencesImperial College LondonLondonUK
- Department of MathematicsImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | | | | | - Lorenzo Picinali
- Dyson School of Design EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Hemprich-Bennett DR, Kemp VA, Blackman J, Struebig MJ, Lewis OT, Rossiter SJ, Clare EL. Altered structure of bat-prey interaction networks in logged tropical forests revealed by metabarcoding. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:5844-5857. [PMID: 34437745 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Habitat degradation is pervasive across the tropics and is particularly acute in Southeast Asia, with major implications for biodiversity. Much research has addressed the impact of degradation on species diversity; however, little is known about how ecological interactions are altered, including those that constitute important ecosystem functions such as consumption of herbivores. To examine how rainforest degradation alters trophic interaction networks, we applied DNA metabarcoding to construct interaction networks linking forest-dwelling insectivorous bat species and their prey, comparing old-growth forest and forest degraded by logging in Sabah, Borneo. Individual bats in logged rainforest consumed a lower richness of prey than those in old-growth forest. As a result, interaction networks in logged forests had a less nested structure. These network structures were associated with reduced network redundancy and thus increased vulnerability to perturbations in logged forests. Our results show how ecological interactions change between old-growth and logged forests, with potentially negative implications for ecosystem function and network stability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David R Hemprich-Bennett
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Victoria A Kemp
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Joshua Blackman
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK
| | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Stephen J Rossiter
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Elizabeth L Clare
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Milodowski DT, Coomes DA, Swinfield T, Jucker T, Riutta T, Malhi Y, Svátek M, Kvasnica J, Burslem DFRP, Ewers RM, Teh YA, Williams M. The impact of logging on vertical canopy structure across a gradient of tropical forest degradation intensity in Borneo. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David T. Milodowski
- School of GeoSciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
- National Centre for Earth Observation University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - David A. Coomes
- Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute Cambridge UK
| | - Tom Swinfield
- Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute Cambridge UK
- Centre for Conservation ScienceRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds Cambridge UK
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute Cambridge UK
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Terhi Riutta
- School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK
- Faculty of Natural Sciences Imperial College London UK
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Martin Svátek
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology Mendel University in Brno Brno Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Kvasnica
- Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology Mendel University in Brno Brno Czech Republic
| | | | | | - Yit Arn Teh
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne UK
| | - Mathew Williams
- School of GeoSciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
- National Centre for Earth Observation University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Riutta T, Kho LK, Teh YA, Ewers R, Majalap N, Malhi Y. Major and persistent shifts in below-ground carbon dynamics and soil respiration following logging in tropical forests. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:2225-2240. [PMID: 33462919 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Soil respiration is the largest carbon efflux from the terrestrial ecosystem to the atmosphere, and selective logging influences soil respiration via changes in abiotic (temperature, moisture) and biotic (biomass, productivity, quantity and quality of necromass inputs) drivers. Logged forests are a predominant feature of the tropical forest landscape, their area exceeding that of intact forest. We quantified both total and component (root, mycorrhiza, litter, and soil organic matter, SOM) soil respiration in logged (n = 5) and old-growth (n = 6) forest plots in Malaysian Borneo, a region which is a global hotspot for emission from forest degradation. We constructed a detailed below-ground carbon budget including organic carbon inputs into the system via litterfall and root turnover. Total soil respiration was significantly higher in logged forests than in old-growth forests (14.3 ± 0.23 and 12.7 ± 0.60 Mg C ha-1 year-1 , respectively, p = 0.037). This was mainly due to the higher SOM respiration in logged forests (55 ± 3.1% of the total respiration in logged forests vs. 50 ± 3.0% in old-growth forests). In old-growth forests, annual SOM respiration was equal to the organic carbon inputs into the soil (difference between SOM respiration and inputs 0.18 Mg C ha-1 year-1 , with 90% confidence intervals of -0.41 and 0.74 Mg C ha-1 year-1 ), indicating that the system is in equilibrium, while in logged forests SOM respiration exceeded the inputs by 4.2 Mg C ha-1 year-1 (90% CI of 3.6 and 4.9 Mg C ha-1 year-1 ), indicating that the soil is losing carbon. These results contribute towards understanding the impact of logging on below-ground carbon dynamics, which is one of the key uncertainties in estimating emissions from forest degradation. This study demonstrates how significant perturbation of the below-ground carbon balance, and consequent net soil carbon emissions, can persist for decades after a logging event in tropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Terhi Riutta
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Lip Khoon Kho
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Peat Ecosystem and Biodiversity, Biology and Sustainability Research Division, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Yit Arn Teh
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Thyne, UK
| | - Robert Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Noreen Majalap
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Camera-trapping assessment of terrestrial mammals and birds in rehabilitated forest in INIKEA Project Area, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. LANDSCAPE AND ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11355-020-00442-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
15
|
Boyle MJW, Bishop TR, Luke SH, Breugel M, Evans TA, Pfeifer M, Fayle TM, Hardwick SR, Lane‐Shaw RI, Yusah KM, Ashford ICR, Ashford OS, Garnett E, Turner EC, Wilkinson CL, Chung AYC, Ewers RM. Localised climate change defines ant communities in human‐modified tropical landscapes. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. W. Boyle
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Silwood Park UK
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore City Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong City Hong Kong
| | - Tom R. Bishop
- Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UK
| | - Sarah H. Luke
- School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Norwich UK
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Michiel Breugel
- Forest GEOSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama
- Yale‐NUS College Singapore City Singapore
| | - Theodore A. Evans
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore City Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Western Australia Crawley Australia
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Silwood Park UK
- School of Biology Newcastle University Newcastle Upon Tyne UK
| | - Tom M. Fayle
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Silwood Park UK
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Entomology Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sabah Sabah Malaysia
| | | | | | - Kalsum M. Yusah
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sabah Sabah Malaysia
| | | | - Oliver S. Ashford
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Integrative Oceanography Division Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego San Diego CA USA
| | - Emma Garnett
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Edgar C. Turner
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Silwood Park UK
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Clare L. Wilkinson
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Silwood Park UK
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore City Singapore
| | | | - Robert M. Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Silwood Park UK
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Williamson J, Slade EM, Luke SH, Swinfield T, Chung AYC, Coomes DA, Heroin H, Jucker T, Lewis OT, Vairappan CS, Rossiter SJ, Struebig MJ. Riparian buffers act as microclimatic refugia in oil palm landscapes. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Williamson
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Queen Mary University of London London UK
| | - Eleanor M. Slade
- Asian School of the EnvironmentNanyang Technological University Singapore City Singapore
| | - Sarah H. Luke
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Tom Swinfield
- Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute Cambridge UK
| | | | - David A. Coomes
- Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute Cambridge UK
| | - Herry Heroin
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sabah Kota Kinabalu Sabah Malaysia
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Owen T. Lewis
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Charles S. Vairappan
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sabah Kota Kinabalu Sabah Malaysia
| | - Stephen J. Rossiter
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Queen Mary University of London London UK
| | - Matthew J. Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Maximizing the value of forest restoration for tropical mammals by detecting three-dimensional habitat associations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:26254-26262. [PMID: 32989143 PMCID: PMC7584909 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001823117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical forest ecosystems are facing unprecedented levels of degradation, severely compromising habitat suitability for wildlife. Despite the fundamental role biodiversity plays in forest regeneration, identifying and prioritizing degraded forests for restoration or conservation, based on their wildlife value, remains a significant challenge. Efforts to characterize habitat selection are also weakened by simple classifications of human-modified tropical forests as intact vs. degraded, which ignore the influence that three-dimensional (3D) forest structure may have on species distributions. Here, we develop a framework to identify conservation and restoration opportunities across logged forests in Borneo. We couple high-resolution airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and camera trap data to characterize the response of a tropical mammal community to changes in 3D forest structure across a degradation gradient. Mammals were most responsive to covariates that accounted explicitly for the vertical and horizontal characteristics of the forest and actively selected structurally complex environments comprising tall canopies, increased plant area index throughout the vertical column, and the availability of a greater diversity of niches. We show that mammals are sensitive to structural simplification through disturbance, emphasizing the importance of maintaining and enhancing structurally intact forests. By calculating occurrence thresholds of species in response to forest structural change, we identify areas of degraded forest that would provide maximum benefit for multiple high-conservation value species if restored. The study demonstrates the advantages of using LiDAR to map forest structure, rather than relying on overly simplistic classifications of human-modified tropical forests, for prioritizing regions for restoration.
Collapse
|
18
|
Bat Ensembles Differ in Response to Use Zones in a Tropical Biosphere Reserve. DIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/d12020060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Biosphere reserves, designated under The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Man and Biosphere Programme, aim to sustainably integrate protected areas into the biological and economic landscape around them by buffering strictly protected habitats with zones of limited use. However, the effectiveness of biosphere reserves and the contribution of the different zones of use to protection is poorly known. We assessed the diversity and activity of bats in the Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve (CRBR) in Sabah, Malaysia, using harp traps, mist nets and acoustic surveys in each zone—core, buffer, transition and in agricultural plots outside of the reserve. We captured 30 species, bringing the known bat fauna of CRBR to 50 species, half of Borneo’s bat species. Species composition and acoustic activity varied among zones and by foraging ensemble, with the core and buffer showing particular importance for conserving forest-dependent insectivorous bats. Frugivorous bats were found in all zones but were the most abundant and most species-rich ensemble within agricultural sites. Although sampling was limited, bat diversity and activity was low in the transition zone compared to other zones, indicating potential for management practices that increase food availability and enhance biodiversity value. We conclude that, collectively, the zones of the CRBR effectively protect diversity, but the value of the transition zone can be improved.
Collapse
|
19
|
Huang JC, Rustiati EL, Nusalawo M, Kingston T. Echolocation and roosting ecology determine sensitivity of forest‐dependent bats to coffee agriculture. Biotropica 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Elly Lestari Rustiati
- Department of Biology College of Mathematics and Natural Science Universitas Lampung Lampung Indonesia
| | - Meyner Nusalawo
- Wildlife Conservation Society‐Indonesia Program Kota BogorJawa Barat Indonesia
| | - Tigga Kingston
- Department of Biological Sciences Texas Tech University Lubbock TX USA
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Seaman DJI, Bernard H, Ancrenaz M, Coomes D, Swinfield T, Milodowski DT, Humle T, Struebig MJ. Densities of Bornean orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) in heavily degraded forest and oil palm plantations in Sabah, Borneo. Am J Primatol 2019; 81:e23030. [PMID: 31328289 PMCID: PMC6771663 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The conversion of forest to agriculture continues to contribute to the loss and fragmentation of remaining orang-utan habitat. There are still few published estimates of orang-utan densities in these heavily modified agricultural areas to inform range-wide population assessments and conservation strategies. In addition, little is known about what landscape features promote orang-utan habitat use. Using indirect nest count methods, we implemented surveys and estimated population densities of the Northeast Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus morio) across the continuous logged forest and forest remnants in a recently salvage-logged area and oil palm plantations in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We then assessed the influence of landscape features and forest structural metrics obtained from LiDAR data on estimates of orang-utan density. Recent salvage logging appeared to have a little short-term effect on orang-utan density (2.35 ind/km 2 ), which remained similar to recovering logged forest nearby (2.32 ind/km 2 ). Orang-utans were also present in remnant forest patches in oil palm plantations, but at significantly lower numbers (0.82 ind/km 2 ) than nearby logged forest and salvage-logged areas. Densities were strongly influenced by variation in canopy height but were not associated with other potential covariates. Our findings suggest that orang-utans currently exist, at least in the short-term, within human-modified landscapes, providing that remnant forest patches remain. We urge greater recognition of the role that these degraded habitats can have in supporting orang-utan populations, and that future range-wide analyses and conservation strategies better incorporate data from human-modified landscapes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dave J I Seaman
- Durrell Institute of Con servation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Marc Ancrenaz
- HUTAN-Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.,Borneo Futures, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
| | - David Coomes
- Department of Plant Sciences, Forest Ecology and Conservation Group, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Thomas Swinfield
- Department of Plant Sciences, Forest Ecology and Conservation Group, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, David Attenborough Building, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Tatyana Humle
- Durrell Institute of Con servation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Con servation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Both S, Riutta T, Paine CET, Elias DMO, Cruz RS, Jain A, Johnson D, Kritzler UH, Kuntz M, Majalap-Lee N, Mielke N, Montoya Pillco MX, Ostle NJ, Arn Teh Y, Malhi Y, Burslem DFRP. Logging and soil nutrients independently explain plant trait expression in tropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 221:1853-1865. [PMID: 30238458 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Plant functional traits regulate ecosystem functions but little is known about how co-occurring gradients of land use and edaphic conditions influence their expression. We test how gradients of logging disturbance and soil properties relate to community-weighted mean traits in logged and old-growth tropical forests in Borneo. We studied 32 physical, chemical and physiological traits from 284 tree species in eight 1 ha plots and measured long-term soil nutrient supplies and plant-available nutrients. Logged plots had greater values for traits that drive carbon capture and growth, whilst old-growth forests had greater values for structural and persistence traits. Although disturbance was the primary driver of trait expression, soil nutrients explained a statistically independent axis of variation linked to leaf size and nutrient concentration. Soil characteristics influenced trait expression via nutrient availability, nutrient pools, and pH. Our finding, that traits have dissimilar responses to land use and soil resource availability, provides robust evidence for the need to consider the abiotic context of logging when predicting plant functional diversity across human-modified tropical forests. The detection of two independent axes was facilitated by the measurement of many more functional traits than have been examined in previous studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Both
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
- Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, NSW, Australia
| | - Terhi Riutta
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - C E Timothy Paine
- Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, NSW, Australia
| | - Dafydd M O Elias
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK
| | - R S Cruz
- Instituto de Ciencias de la Naturaleza, Territorio y Energías Renovables, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú
| | - Annuar Jain
- The South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), Danum Valley Field Centre, PO Box 60282, 91112, Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - David Johnson
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Ully H Kritzler
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Marianne Kuntz
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Noreen Majalap-Lee
- Forest Research Centre, Peti Surat 1407, 90715, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Nora Mielke
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Milenka X Montoya Pillco
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Nicholas J Ostle
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Yit Arn Teh
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, NSW, Australia
| | - David F R P Burslem
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Mitchell SL, Edwards DP, Bernard H, Coomes D, Jucker T, Davies ZG, Struebig MJ. Riparian reserves help protect forest bird communities in oil palm dominated landscapes. J Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simon L. Mitchell
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE)School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of Kent Canterbury Kent UK
| | - David P. Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant SciencesUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield South Yorks UK
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and ConservationUniversiti Malaysia Sabah Kota Kinabalu Sabah Malaysia
| | - David Coomes
- Forest Ecology and Conservation GroupDepartment of Plant SciencesUniversity of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge UK
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- Forest Ecology and Conservation GroupDepartment of Plant SciencesUniversity of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge UK
| | - Zoe G. Davies
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE)School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of Kent Canterbury Kent UK
| | - Matthew J. Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE)School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of Kent Canterbury Kent UK
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Pillay R, Hua F, Loiselle BA, Bernard H, Fletcher RJ. Multiple stages of tree seedling recruitment are altered in tropical forests degraded by selective logging. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:8231-8242. [PMID: 30250698 PMCID: PMC6145000 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical forest degradation is a global environmental issue. In degraded forests, seedling recruitment of canopy trees is vital for forest regeneration and recovery. We investigated how selective logging, a pervasive driver of tropical forest degradation, impacts canopy tree seedling recruitment, focusing on an endemic dipterocarp Dryobalanops lanceolata in Sabah, Borneo. During a mast-fruiting event in intensively logged and nearby unlogged forest, we examined four stages of the seedling recruitment process: seed production, seed predation, and negative density-dependent germination and seedling survival. Our results suggest that each stage of the seedling recruitment process is altered in logged forest. The seed crop of D. lanceolata trees in logged forest was one-third smaller than that produced by trees in unlogged forest. The functional role of vertebrates in seed predation increased in logged forest while that of non-vertebrates declined. Seeds in logged forest were less likely to germinate than those in unlogged forest. Germination increased with local-scale conspecific seed density in unlogged forest, but seedling survival tended to decline. However, both germination and seedling survival increased with local-scale conspecific seed density in logged forest. Notably, seed crop size, germination, and seedling survival tended to increase for larger trees in both unlogged and logged forests, suggesting that sustainable timber extraction and silvicultural practices designed to minimize damage to the residual stand are important to prevent seedling recruitment failure. Overall, these impacts sustained by several aspects of seedling recruitment in a mast-fruiting year suggest that intensive selective logging may affect long-term population dynamics of D. lanceolata. It is necessary to establish if other dipterocarp species, many of which are threatened by the timber trade, are similarly affected in tropical forests degraded by intensive selective logging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rajeev Pillay
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and ConservationUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Fangyuan Hua
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Bette A. Loiselle
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and ConservationUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
- Center for Latin American StudiesUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and ConservationUniversiti Malaysia SabahKota KinabaluSabahMalaysia
| | - Robert J. Fletcher
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and ConservationUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Riutta T, Malhi Y, Kho LK, Marthews TR, Huaraca Huasco W, Khoo M, Tan S, Turner E, Reynolds G, Both S, Burslem DFRP, Teh YA, Vairappan CS, Majalap N, Ewers RM. Logging disturbance shifts net primary productivity and its allocation in Bornean tropical forests. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:2913-2928. [PMID: 29364562 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 12/16/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests play a major role in the carbon cycle of the terrestrial biosphere. Recent field studies have provided detailed descriptions of the carbon cycle of mature tropical forests, but logged or secondary forests have received much less attention. Here, we report the first measures of total net primary productivity (NPP) and its allocation along a disturbance gradient from old-growth forests to moderately and heavily logged forests in Malaysian Borneo. We measured the main NPP components (woody, fine root and canopy NPP) in old-growth (n = 6) and logged (n = 5) 1 ha forest plots. Overall, the total NPP did not differ between old-growth and logged forest (13.5 ± 0.5 and 15.7 ± 1.5 Mg C ha-1 year-1 respectively). However, logged forests allocated significantly higher fraction into woody NPP at the expense of the canopy NPP (42% and 48% into woody and canopy NPP, respectively, in old-growth forest vs 66% and 23% in logged forest). When controlling for local stand structure, NPP in logged forest stands was 41% higher, and woody NPP was 150% higher than in old-growth stands with similar basal area, but this was offset by structure effects (higher gap frequency and absence of large trees in logged forest). This pattern was not driven by species turnover: the average woody NPP of all species groups within logged forest (pioneers, nonpioneers, species unique to logged plots and species shared with old-growth plots) was similar. Hence, below a threshold of very heavy disturbance, logged forests can exhibit higher NPP and higher allocation to wood; such shifts in carbon cycling persist for decades after the logging event. Given that the majority of tropical forest biome has experienced some degree of logging, our results demonstrate that logging can cause substantial shifts in carbon production and allocation in tropical forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Terhi Riutta
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lip Khoon Kho
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Biological Research Division, Tropical Peat Research Institute, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Toby R Marthews
- School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
| | | | - MinSheng Khoo
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Sylvester Tan
- Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Edgar Turner
- Insect Ecology Group, University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Glen Reynolds
- Danum Valley Field Centre, The Royal Society South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Sabine Both
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | | | - Yit Arn Teh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Charles S Vairappan
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Noreen Majalap
- Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Robert M Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Deere NJ, Guillera‐Arroita G, Baking EL, Bernard H, Pfeifer M, Reynolds G, Wearn OR, Davies ZG, Struebig MJ. High Carbon Stock forests provide co‐benefits for tropical biodiversity. J Appl Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas J. Deere
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK
| | | | - Esther L. Baking
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sabah Kota Kinabalu Sabah Malaysia
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation Universiti Malaysia Sabah Kota Kinabalu Sabah Malaysia
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- School of Biology Newcastle University Newcastle Upon Tyne UK
| | - Glen Reynolds
- South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) Danum Valley Field Centre Lahad Datu Sabah Malaysia
| | | | - Zoe G. Davies
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK
| | - Matthew J. Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Seltmann A, Corman VM, Rasche A, Drosten C, Czirják GÁ, Bernard H, Struebig MJ, Voigt CC. Seasonal Fluctuations of Astrovirus, But Not Coronavirus Shedding in Bats Inhabiting Human-Modified Tropical Forests. ECOHEALTH 2017; 14:272-284. [PMID: 28500421 PMCID: PMC7087689 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-017-1245-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2016] [Revised: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are considered a major threat to global health. Most EIDs appear to result from increased contact between wildlife and humans, especially when humans encroach into formerly pristine habitats. Habitat deterioration may also negatively affect the physiology and health of wildlife species, which may eventually lead to a higher susceptibility to infectious agents and/or increased shedding of the pathogens causing EIDs. Bats are known to host viruses closely related to important EIDs. Here, we tested in a paleotropical forest with ongoing logging and fragmentation, whether habitat disturbance influences the occurrence of astro- and coronaviruses in eight bat species. In contrast to our hypothesis, anthropogenic habitat disturbance was not associated with corona- and astrovirus detection rates in fecal samples. However, we found that bats infected with either astro- or coronaviruses were likely to be coinfected with the respective other virus. Additionally, we identified two more risk factors influencing astrovirus shedding. First, the detection rate of astroviruses was higher at the beginning of the rainy compared to the dry season. Second, there was a trend that individuals with a poor body condition had a higher probability of shedding astroviruses in their feces. The identification of risk factors for increased viral shedding that may potentially result in increased interspecies transmission is important to prevent viral spillovers from bats to other animals, including humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne Seltmann
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany.
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Victor M Corman
- Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research, partner site Bonn-Cologne, Bonn, Germany
| | - Andrea Rasche
- Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research, partner site Bonn-Cologne, Bonn, Germany
| | - Christian Drosten
- Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research, partner site Bonn-Cologne, Bonn, Germany
| | - Gábor Á Czirják
- Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Christian C Voigt
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Luke SH, Barclay H, Bidin K, Chey VK, Ewers RM, Foster WA, Nainar A, Pfeifer M, Reynolds G, Turner EC, Walsh RPD, Aldridge DC. The effects of catchment and riparian forest quality on stream environmental conditions across a tropical rainforest and oil palm landscape in Malaysian Borneo. ECOHYDROLOGY : ECOSYSTEMS, LAND AND WATER PROCESS INTERACTIONS, ECOHYDROGEOMORPHOLOGY 2017; 10:e1827. [PMID: 28706573 PMCID: PMC5485068 DOI: 10.1002/eco.1827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2016] [Revised: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/14/2016] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Freshwaters provide valuable habitat and important ecosystem services but are threatened worldwide by habitat loss and degradation. In Southeast Asia, rainforest streams are particularly threatened by logging and conversion to oil palm, but we lack information on the impacts of this on freshwater environmental conditions, and the relative importance of catchment versus riparian-scale disturbance. We studied 16 streams in Sabah, Borneo, including old-growth forest, logged forest, and oil palm sites. We assessed forest quality in riparian zones and across the whole catchment and compared it with stream environmental conditions including water quality, structural complexity, and organic inputs. We found that streams with the highest riparian forest quality were nearly 4 °C cooler, over 20 cm deeper, had over 40% less sand, greater canopy cover, more stored leaf litter, and wider channels than oil palm streams with the lowest riparian forest quality. Other variables were significantly related to catchment-scale forest quality, with streams in the highest quality forest catchments having 40% more bedrock and 20 times more dead wood, along with higher phosphorus, and lower nitrate-N levels compared to streams with the lowest catchment-scale forest quality. Although riparian buffer strips went some way to protecting waterways, they did not maintain fully forest-like stream conditions. In addition, logged forest streams still showed signs of disturbance 10-15 years after selective logging. Our results suggest that maintenance and restoration of buffer strips can help to protect healthy freshwater ecosystems but logging practices and catchment-scale forest management also need to be considered.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah H. Luke
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeDowning StreetCambridgeCB2 3EJUK
| | - Holly Barclay
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeDowning StreetCambridgeCB2 3EJUK
- School of ScienceMonash UniversityJalan Lagoon Selatan47500Subang JayaSelangor Darul EhsanMalaysia
| | - Kawi Bidin
- Natural Disaster Research CentreUniversiti Malaysia SabahJalan UMS88400Kota KinabaluSabahMalaysia
| | - Vun Khen Chey
- Forest Research Centre (Sepilok)Sabah Forestry DepartmentP.O. Box 140790715SandakanSabahMalaysia
| | - Robert M. Ewers
- Department of Life SciencesImperial College London, Silwood Park CampusBuckhurst RoadAscotSL5 7PYUK
| | - William A. Foster
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeDowning StreetCambridgeCB2 3EJUK
| | - Anand Nainar
- Faculty of Science and Natural ResourcesUniversiti Malaysia SabahJalan UMS88400Kota KinabaluSabahMalaysia
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- Department of Life SciencesImperial College London, Silwood Park CampusBuckhurst RoadAscotSL5 7PYUK
- School of BiologyNewcastle UniversityRidley Building 2Newcastle upon TyneNE1 7RUUK
| | - Glen Reynolds
- The South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP)Danum Valley Field CentreP.O. Box 6028291112Lahad DatuSabahMalaysia
| | - Edgar C. Turner
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeDowning StreetCambridgeCB2 3EJUK
- Department of Life SciencesImperial College London, Silwood Park CampusBuckhurst RoadAscotSL5 7PYUK
| | | | - David C. Aldridge
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeDowning StreetCambridgeCB2 3EJUK
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Phillips HRP, Newbold T, Purvis A. Land-use effects on local biodiversity in tropical forests vary between continents. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION 2017; 26:2251-2270. [PMID: 32025108 PMCID: PMC6979682 DOI: 10.1007/s10531-017-1356-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2016] [Revised: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Land-use change is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, especially in the tropics where secondary and plantation forests are expanding while primary forest is declining. Understanding how well these disturbed habitats maintain biodiversity is therefore important-specifically how the maturity of secondary forest and the management intensity of plantation forest affect levels of biodiversity. Previous studies have shown that the biotas of different continents respond differently to land use. Any continental differences in the response could be due to differences in land-use intensity and maturity of secondary vegetation or to differences among species in their sensitivity to disturbances. We tested these hypotheses using an extensive dataset collated from published biodiversity comparisons within four tropical regions-Asia, Africa, Central America and South America-and a wide range of animal and plant taxa. We analysed responses to land use of several aspects of biodiversity-species richness, species composition and endemicity-allowing a more detailed comparison than in previous syntheses. Within each continent, assemblages from secondary vegetation of all successional stages retained species richness comparable to those in primary vegetation, but community composition was distinct, especially in younger secondary vegetation. Plantation forests, particularly the most intensively managed, supported a smaller-and very distinct-set of species from sites in primary vegetation. Responses to land use did vary significantly among continents, with the biggest difference in richness between plantation and primary forests in Asia. Responses of individual taxonomic groups did not differ strongly among continents, giving little indication that species were inherently more sensitive in Asia than elsewhere. We show that oil palm plantations support particularly low species richness, indicating that continental differences in the response of biodiversity to land use are perhaps more likely explained by Asia's high prevalence of oil palm plantations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Helen R. P. Phillips
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, London, SL5 7PY UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD UK
- Present Address: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tim Newbold
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT UK
| | - Andy Purvis
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, London, SL5 7PY UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD UK
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Twining JP, Bernard H, Ewers RM. Increasing land-use intensity reverses the relative occupancy of two quadrupedal scavengers. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0177143. [PMID: 28494004 PMCID: PMC5426707 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 04/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Human land use is continuously altering the natural environment, yet the greater ecological implications of this change for many groups that are key to healthy ecosystem functioning remains uncharacterised in the tropics. Terrestrial scavenging vertebrates are one such group, providing integral ecosystem services through the removal of carrion which is a crucial component of both nutrient cycling and disease dynamics. To explore how anthropogenic processes may affect forest scavengers, we investigated the changes in the relative occupancy of two important terrestrial scavengers along a gradient of land use intensity, ranging from protected forest to oil palm plantation in Borneo. We found the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga) had highest, albeit variable, occupancy in areas of low land use intensity and the Southeast Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator macromaculatus) had highest occupancy in areas of high land use intensity. Land use had no effect on the combined occupancy of the two species. In high land use intensity sites, individual water monitors were larger and had better body condition, but at population level had a highly biased sex ratio with more males than females and increased signs of intraspecific conflict. We did not assess scavenging rate or efficiency as a process, but the high occupancy rates and apparent health of the scavengers in high land use intensity landscapes suggests this ecological process is robust to land use change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua P. Twining
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Robert M. Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Seltmann A, Czirják GÁ, Courtiol A, Bernard H, Struebig MJ, Voigt CC. Habitat disturbance results in chronic stress and impaired health status in forest-dwelling paleotropical bats. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2017; 5:cox020. [PMID: 28421138 PMCID: PMC5388297 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cox020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2016] [Revised: 02/16/2017] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic habitat disturbance is a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Yet, before population declines are detectable, individuals may suffer from chronic stress and impaired immunity in disturbed habitats, making them more susceptible to pathogens and adverse weather conditions. Here, we tested in a paleotropical forest with ongoing logging and fragmentation, whether habitat disturbance influences the body mass and immunity of bats. We measured and compared body mass, chronic stress (indicated by neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios) and the number of circulating immune cells between several bat species with different roost types living in recovering areas, actively logged forests, and fragmented forests in Sabah, Malaysia. In a cave-roosting species, chronic stress levels were higher in individuals from fragmented habitats compared with conspecifics from actively logged areas. Foliage-roosting species showed a reduced body mass and decrease in total white blood cell counts in actively logged areas and fragmented forests compared with conspecifics living in recovering habitats. Our study highlights that habitat disturbance may have species-specific effects on chronic stress and immunity in bats that are potentially related to the roost type. We identified foliage-roosting species as particularly sensitive to forest habitat deterioration. These species may face a heightened extinction risk in the near future if anthropogenic habitat alterations continue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne Seltmann
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- Corresponding author: Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany. Tel: +49-30-5168-326; fax: +49-30-5126-104.
| | - Gábor Á. Czirják
- Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexandre Courtiol
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Matthew J. Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Christian C. Voigt
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Brant HL, Ewers RM, Vythilingam I, Drakeley C, Benedick S, Mumford JD. Vertical stratification of adult mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) within a tropical rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. Malar J 2016; 15:370. [PMID: 27430261 PMCID: PMC4950076 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-016-1416-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 07/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Malaria cases caused by Plasmodium knowlesi, a simian parasite naturally found in long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques, are increasing rapidly in Sabah, Malaysia. One hypothesis is that this increase is associated with changes in land use. A study was carried out to identify the anopheline vectors present in different forest types and to observe the human landing behaviour of mosquitoes. Methods Mosquito collections were carried out using human landing catches at ground and canopy levels in the Tawau Division of Sabah. Collections were conducted along an anthropogenic disturbance gradient (primary forest, lightly logged virgin jungle reserve and salvage logged forest) between 18:00 and 22:00 h. Results Anopheles balabacensis, a vector of P. knowlesi, was the predominant species in all collection areas, accounting for 70 % of the total catch, with a peak landing time of 18:30–20:00 h. Anopheles balabacensis had a preference for landing on humans at ground level compared to the canopy (p < 0.0001). A greater abundance of mosquitoes were landing in the logged forest compared to the primary forest (p < 0.0001). There was no difference between mosquito abundance in the logged forest and lightly logged forest (p = 0.554). A higher evening temperature (p < 0.0001) and rainfall (p < 0.0001) significantly decreased mosquito abundance during collection nights. Conclusions This study demonstrates the potential ability of An. balabacensis to transmit P. knowlesi between canopy-dwelling simian hosts and ground-dwelling humans, and that forest disturbance increases the abundance of this disease vector. These results, in combination with regional patterns of land use change, may partly explain the rapid rise in P. knowlesi cases in Sabah. This study provides essential data on anthropophily for the principal vector of P. knowlesi which is important for the planning of vector control strategies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-016-1416-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hayley L Brant
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK.
| | - Robert M Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Indra Vythilingam
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Chris Drakeley
- Department of Immunology and Infection, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Suzan Benedick
- Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked Bag No. 3, 90509, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - John D Mumford
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Murray JP, Grenyer R, Wunder S, Raes N, Jones JPG. Spatial patterns of carbon, biodiversity, deforestation threat, and REDD+ projects in Indonesia. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2015; 29:1434-1445. [PMID: 25864538 PMCID: PMC4654267 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2014] [Accepted: 01/31/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
There are concerns that Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) may fail to deliver potential biodiversity cobenefits if it is focused on high carbon areas. We explored the spatial overlaps between carbon stocks, biodiversity, projected deforestation threats, and the location of REDD+ projects in Indonesia, a tropical country at the forefront of REDD+ development. For biodiversity, we assembled data on the distribution of terrestrial vertebrates (ranges of amphibians, mammals, birds, reptiles) and plants (species distribution models for 8 families). We then investigated congruence between different measures of biodiversity richness and carbon stocks at the national and subnational scales. Finally, we mapped active REDD+ projects and investigated the carbon density and potential biodiversity richness and modeled deforestation pressures within these forests relative to protected areas and unprotected forests. There was little internal overlap among the different hotspots (richest 10% of cells) of species richness. There was also no consistent spatial congruence between carbon stocks and the biodiversity measures: a weak negative correlation at the national scale masked highly variable and nonlinear relationships island by island. Current REDD+ projects were preferentially located in areas with higher total species richness and threatened species richness but lower carbon densities than protected areas and unprotected forests. Although a quarter of the total area of these REDD+ projects is under relatively high deforestation pressure, the majority of the REDD+ area is not. In Indonesia at least, first-generation REDD+ projects are located where they are likely to deliver biodiversity benefits. However, if REDD+ is to deliver additional gains for climate and biodiversity, projects will need to focus on forests with the highest threat to deforestation, which will have cost implications for future REDD+ implementation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Josil P Murray
- School of Environment, Natural Resource and Geography (SENRGY), Bangor UniversityLL57 2UW, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom
- Naturalis Biodiversity CenterDarwinweg 2, P.O. Box 9517, NL-2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Richard Grenyer
- School of Geography and the Environment, University of OxfordSouth Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, United Kingdom
| | - Sven Wunder
- Center for International Forestry Research, Rua do Russel450/601, CEP 22.210–010, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Niels Raes
- Naturalis Biodiversity CenterDarwinweg 2, P.O. Box 9517, NL-2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Julia PG Jones
- School of Environment, Natural Resource and Geography (SENRGY), Bangor UniversityLL57 2UW, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Voigt CC, Kingston T. Responses of Tropical Bats to Habitat Fragmentation, Logging, and Deforestation. BATS IN THE ANTHROPOCENE: CONSERVATION OF BATS IN A CHANGING WORLD 2015. [PMCID: PMC7124148 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-25220-9_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Land-use change is a key driver of the global biodiversity crisis and a particularly serious threat to tropical biodiversity. Throughout the tropics, the staggering pace of deforestation, logging, and conversion of forested habitat to other land uses has created highly fragmented landscapes that are increasingly dominated by human-modified habitats and degraded forests. In this chapter, we review the responses of tropical bats to a range of land-use change scenarios, focusing on the effects of habitat fragmentation, logging, and conversion of tropical forest to various forms of agricultural production. Recent landscape-scale studies have considerably advanced our understanding of how tropical bats respond to habitat fragmentation and disturbance at the population, ensemble, and assemblage level. This research emphasizes that responses of bats are often species and ensemble specific, sensitive to spatial scale, and strongly molded by the characteristics of the prevailing landscape matrix. Nonetheless, substantial knowledge gaps exist concerning other types of response by bats. Few studies have assessed responses at the genetic, behavioral, or physiological level, with regard to disease prevalence, or the extent to which human disturbance erodes the capacity of tropical bats to provide key ecosystem services. A strong geographic bias, with Asia and, most notably, Africa, being strongly understudied, precludes a comprehensive understanding of the effects of fragmentation and disturbance on tropical bats. We strongly encourage increased research in the Paleotropics and emphasize the need for long-term studies, approaches designed to integrate multiple scales, and answering questions that are key to conserving tropical bats in an era of environmental change and dominance of modified habitats (i.e., the Anthropocene).
Collapse
|
34
|
Maas B, Karp DS, Bumrungsri S, Darras K, Gonthier D, Huang JCC, Lindell CA, Maine JJ, Mestre L, Michel NL, Morrison EB, Perfecto I, Philpott SM, Şekercioğlu ÇH, Silva RM, Taylor PJ, Tscharntke T, Van Bael SA, Whelan CJ, Williams-Guillén K. Bird and bat predation services in tropical forests and agroforestry landscapes. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015. [PMID: 26202483 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Understanding distribution patterns and multitrophic interactions is critical for managing bat- and bird-mediated ecosystem services such as the suppression of pest and non-pest arthropods. Despite the ecological and economic importance of bats and birds in tropical forests, agroforestry systems, and agricultural systems mixed with natural forest, a systematic review of their impact is still missing. A growing number of bird and bat exclosure experiments has improved our knowledge allowing new conclusions regarding their roles in food webs and associated ecosystem services. Here, we review the distribution patterns of insectivorous birds and bats, their local and landscape drivers, and their effects on trophic cascades in tropical ecosystems. We report that for birds but not bats community composition and relative importance of functional groups changes conspicuously from forests to habitats including both agricultural areas and forests, here termed 'forest-agri' habitats, with reduced representation of insectivores in the latter. In contrast to previous theory regarding trophic cascade strength, we find that birds and bats reduce the density and biomass of arthropods in the tropics with effect sizes similar to those in temperate and boreal communities. The relative importance of birds versus bats in regulating pest abundances varies with season, geography and management. Birds and bats may even suppress tropical arthropod outbreaks, although positive effects on plant growth are not always reported. As both bats and birds are major agents of pest suppression, a better understanding of the local and landscape factors driving the variability of their impact is needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bea Maas
- Agroecology, Georg-August University, Grisebachstraße 6, 37077, Goettingen, Germany. .,Division of Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Daniel S Karp
- The Nature Conservancy, 201 Mission Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94105, U.S.A.,Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Mulford Hall, 130 Hilgard Way, Berkeley, CA, 94720, U.S.A
| | - Sara Bumrungsri
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand 15 Karnjanavanich Rd., Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand
| | - Kevin Darras
- Agroecology, Georg-August University, Grisebachstraße 6, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - David Gonthier
- The Nature Conservancy, 201 Mission Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94105, U.S.A.,School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, U.S.A
| | - Joe C-C Huang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Box 43131, Lubbock, TX, 79409, U.S.A.,Southeast Asian Bat Conservation and Research Unit, Department of Biological Science, Box 43131, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409-3131, U.S.A
| | - Catherine A Lindell
- Integrative Biology Department, Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane RM 203, East Lansing, MI, 48824, U.S.A
| | - Josiah J Maine
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Center for Ecology, Southern Illinois University, 1125 Lincoln Dr., Carbondale, IL, 62901, U.S.A
| | - Laia Mestre
- CREAF, Carretera de Bellaterra a l'Autònoma, s/n, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès,, Barcelona, Spain.,Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma, Carretera de Bellaterra a l'Autònoma, s/n, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7044, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Nicole L Michel
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, 117 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5C8, Canada
| | - Emily B Morrison
- Integrative Biology Department, Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane RM 203, East Lansing, MI, 48824, U.S.A
| | - Ivette Perfecto
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, U.S.A
| | - Stacy M Philpott
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95062, U.S.A
| | - Çagan H Şekercioğlu
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Rm. 201, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, U.S.A.,College of Sciences, Koç University, Rumelifeneri, Sariyer, 34450, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Roberta M Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Ilhéus-Itabuna, km 16, 45662-900, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Peter J Taylor
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban, 4000, South Africa.,SARChI Chair on Biodiversity Value & Change and Centre for Invasion Biology, School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences, University of Venda, P. Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Georg-August University, Grisebachstraße 6, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Sunshine A Van Bael
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70118, U.S.A.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama
| | - Christopher J Whelan
- Illinois Natural History Survey, c/o Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, U.S.A
| | - Kimberly Williams-Guillén
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, U.S.A.,Paso Pacífico, PO Box 1244, Ventura, CA, 94302, U.S.A
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Fayle TM, Turner EC, Basset Y, Ewers RM, Reynolds G, Novotny V. Whole-ecosystem experimental manipulations of tropical forests. Trends Ecol Evol 2015; 30:334-46. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2014] [Revised: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/11/2015] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
|
36
|
Soisook P, Struebig MJ, Noerfahmy S, Bernard H, Maryanto I, Chen SF, Rossiter SJ, Kuo HC, Deshpande K, Bates PJJ, Sykes D, Miguez RP. Description of a New Species of theRhinolophus trifoliatus-Group (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) from Southeast Asia. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2015. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2015.17.1.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
37
|
Ewers RM, Boyle MJW, Gleave RA, Plowman NS, Benedick S, Bernard H, Bishop TR, Bakhtiar EY, Chey VK, Chung AYC, Davies RG, Edwards DP, Eggleton P, Fayle TM, Hardwick SR, Homathevi R, Kitching RL, Khoo MS, Luke SH, March JJ, Nilus R, Pfeifer M, Rao SV, Sharp AC, Snaddon JL, Stork NE, Struebig MJ, Wearn OR, Yusah KM, Turner EC. Logging cuts the functional importance of invertebrates in tropical rainforest. Nat Commun 2015; 6:6836. [PMID: 25865801 PMCID: PMC4403313 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2014] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Invertebrates are dominant species in primary tropical rainforests, where their abundance and diversity contributes to the functioning and resilience of these globally important ecosystems. However, more than one-third of tropical forests have been logged, with dramatic impacts on rainforest biodiversity that may disrupt key ecosystem processes. We find that the contribution of invertebrates to three ecosystem processes operating at three trophic levels (litter decomposition, seed predation and removal, and invertebrate predation) is reduced by up to one-half following logging. These changes are associated with decreased abundance of key functional groups of termites, ants, beetles and earthworms, and an increase in the abundance of small mammals, amphibians and insectivorous birds in logged relative to primary forest. Our results suggest that ecosystem processes themselves have considerable resilience to logging, but the consistent decline of invertebrate functional importance is indicative of a human-induced shift in how these ecological processes operate in tropical rainforests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Ewers
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Michael J W Boyle
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Rosalind A Gleave
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Nichola S Plowman
- 1] Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK [2] Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 31, Ceske Budejovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic [3] Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovska 31, Ceske Budejovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Suzan Benedick
- Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked Bag No. 3, Sandakan, Sabah 90509, Malaysia
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jln UMS, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 88400, Malaysia
| | - Tom R Bishop
- 1] Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK [2] School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK [3] Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
| | - Effendi Y Bakhtiar
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jln UMS, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 88400, Malaysia
| | - Vun Khen Chey
- Forest Research Centre (Sepilok), Sabah Forestry Department, PO Box 1407, Sandakan, Sabah 90715, Malaysia
| | - Arthur Y C Chung
- Forest Research Centre (Sepilok), Sabah Forestry Department, PO Box 1407, Sandakan, Sabah 90715, Malaysia
| | - Richard G Davies
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - David P Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Paul Eggleton
- Entomology Department, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Tom M Fayle
- 1] Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK [2] Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 31, Ceske Budejovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic [3] Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovska 31, Ceske Budejovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic [4] Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jln UMS, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 88400, Malaysia
| | - Stephen R Hardwick
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Rahman Homathevi
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jln UMS, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 88400, Malaysia
| | - Roger L Kitching
- Environmental Futures Research Institute and Griffith School of the Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia
| | - Min Sheng Khoo
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Sarah H Luke
- 1] School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK [2] Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Joshua J March
- Entomology Department, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Reuben Nilus
- Forest Research Centre (Sepilok), Sabah Forestry Department, PO Box 1407, Sandakan, Sabah 90715, Malaysia
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Sri V Rao
- School of Rural, Animal and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Brackenhurst Campus, Southwell, Nottinghamshire NG25 0QF, UK
| | - Adam C Sharp
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Jake L Snaddon
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Nigel E Stork
- Environmental Futures Research Institute and Griffith School of the Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Oliver R Wearn
- 1] Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK [2] Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Kalsum M Yusah
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jln UMS, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 88400, Malaysia
| | - Edgar C Turner
- 1] Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK [2] Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Bicknell JE, Struebig MJ, Davies ZG, Baraloto C. Reconciling timber extraction with biodiversity conservation in tropical forests using reduced-impact logging. J Appl Ecol 2015; 52:379-388. [PMID: 25954054 PMCID: PMC4415554 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2014] [Accepted: 12/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Over 20% of the world's tropical forests have been selectively logged, and large expanses are allocated for future timber extraction. Reduced‐impact logging (RIL) is being promoted as best practice forestry that increases sustainability and lowers CO2 emissions from logging, by reducing collateral damage associated with timber extraction. RIL is also expected to minimize the impacts of selective logging on biodiversity, although this is yet to be thoroughly tested. We undertake the most comprehensive study to date to investigate the biodiversity impacts of RIL across multiple taxonomic groups. We quantified birds, bats and large mammal assemblage structures, using a before‐after control‐impact (BACI) design across 20 sample sites over a 5‐year period. Faunal surveys utilized point counts, mist nets and line transects and yielded >250 species. We examined assemblage responses to logging, as well as partitions of feeding guild and strata (understorey vs. canopy), and then tested for relationships with logging intensity to assess the primary determinants of community composition. Community analysis revealed little effect of RIL on overall assemblages, as structure and composition were similar before and after logging, and between logging and control sites. Variation in bird assemblages was explained by natural rates of change over time, and not logging intensity. However, when partitioned by feeding guild and strata, the frugivorous and canopy bird ensembles changed as a result of RIL, although the latter was also associated with change over time. Bats exhibited variable changes post‐logging that were not related to logging, whereas large mammals showed no change at all. Indicator species analysis and correlations with logging intensities revealed that some species exhibited idiosyncratic responses to RIL, whilst abundance change of most others was associated with time. Synthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates the relatively benign effect of reduced‐impact logging (RIL) on birds, bats and large mammals in a neotropical forest context, and therefore, we propose that forest managers should improve timber extraction techniques more widely. If RIL is extensively adopted, forestry concessions could represent sizeable and important additions to the global conservation estate – over 4 million km2.
Our study demonstrates the relatively benign effect of reduced‐impact logging (RIL) on birds, bats and large mammals in a neotropical forest context, and therefore, we propose that forest managers should improve timber extraction techniques more widely. If RIL is extensively adopted, forestry concessions could represent sizeable and important additions to the global conservation estate – over 4 million km2.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jake E Bicknell
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK ; Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development 77 High Street, Georgetown, Guyana
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Zoe G Davies
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Christopher Baraloto
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Faulkner SC, Stevenson MD, Verity R, Mustari AH, Semple S, Tosh DG, Le Comber SC. Using geographic profiling to locate elusive nocturnal animals: a case study with spectral tarsiers. J Zool (1987) 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- S. C. Faulkner
- Department of Life Sciences; University of Roehampton; London UK
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
| | - M. D. Stevenson
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
| | - R. Verity
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
- MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling; Imperial College London; London UK
| | - A. H. Mustari
- Faculty of Forestry; Department of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecotourism; Kampus Fahutan IPB Darmaga; Bogor West Java Indonesia
| | - S. Semple
- Department of Life Sciences; University of Roehampton; London UK
| | - D. G. Tosh
- School of Biological Sciences; Medical Biology Centre; Queen's University Belfast; Belfast UK
| | - S. C. Le Comber
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; London UK
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Gray CL, Lewis OT, Chung AYC, Fayle TM. Riparian reserves within oil palm plantations conserve logged forest leaf litter ant communities and maintain associated scavenging rates. J Appl Ecol 2014; 52:31-40. [PMID: 25678717 PMCID: PMC4312969 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2014] [Accepted: 10/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The expansion of oil palm plantations at the expense of tropical forests is causing declines in many species and altering ecosystem functions. Maintaining forest-dependent species and processes in these landscapes may therefore limit the negative impacts of this economically important industry. Protecting riparian vegetation may be one such opportunity; forest buffer strips are commonly protected for hydrological reasons, but can also conserve functionally important taxa and the processes they support.We surveyed leaf litter ant communities within oil palm-dominated landscapes in Sabah, Malaysia, using protein baits. As the scavenging activity of ants influences important ecological characteristics such as nutrient cycling and soil structure, we quantified species-specific rates of bait removal to examine how this process may change across land uses and establish which changes in community structure underlie observed shifts in activity.Riparian reserves had similar ant species richness, community composition and scavenging rates to nearby continuous logged forest. Reserve width and vegetation structure did not affect ant species richness significantly. However, the number of foraging individuals decreased with increasing reserve width, and scavenging rate increased with vegetation complexity.Oil palm ant communities were characterized by significantly lower species richness than logged forest and riparian reserves and also by altered community composition and reduced scavenging rates.Reduced scavenging activity in oil palm was not explained by a reduction in ant species richness, nor by replacement of forest ant species by those with lower per species scavenging rates. There was also no significant effect of land use on the scavenging activity of the forest species that persisted in oil palm. Rather, changes in scavenging activity were best explained by a reduction in the mean rate of bait removal per individual ant across all species in the community.Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that riparian reserves are comparable to areas of logged forest in terms of ant community composition and ant-mediated scavenging. Hence, in addition to protecting large continuous areas of primary and logged forest, maintaining riparian reserves is a successful strategy for conserving leaf litter ants and their scavenging activities in tropical agricultural landscapes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia L Gray
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK ; School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Arthur Y C Chung
- Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre P.O. Box 1407, 90715, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Tom M Fayle
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia and Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic ; Forest Ecology and Conservation Group, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Bernard H, Baking EL, Giordano AJ, Wearn OR, Ahmad AH. Terrestrial Mammal Species Richness and Composition in Three Small Forest Patches within an Oil Palm Landscape in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. MAMMAL STUDY 2014. [DOI: 10.3106/041.039.0303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
42
|
Abstract
Abstract:To what extent tropical forest persisted in the Malay-Thai Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum, or contracted southwards with subsequent post-glacial expansion, has long been debated. These competing scenarios might be expected to have left contrasting broad spatial patterns of diversity of forest-dependent taxa. To test for a post-glacial northward spread of forest, we examined latitudinal clines of forest-dependent bat species at 15 forest sites across Peninsular Malaysia. From captures of 3776 insectivorous forest bats, we found that low richness characterized the north of the study area: predicted richness of 9–16 species, compared with 21–23 in the south. Predicted species richness decreased significantly with increasing latitude, but showed no relationship with either seasonality or peninsula width. Analyses of beta-diversity showed that differences between communities were not related to geographical distance, although there was evidence of greater differences in species numbers between the most distant sites. Assemblages were consistently dominated by six cave-roosting species from the families Rhinolophidae and Hipposideridae, while another 16 species were consistently rare. We suggest that these observed patterns are consistent with the hypothesized northward expansion of tropical rain forest since the Last Glacial Maximum, but emphasize that more surveys in the extreme north and south of the peninsula are required to support this assertion.
Collapse
|
43
|
Stewart RI, Dossena M, Bohan DA, Jeppesen E, Kordas RL, Ledger ME, Meerhoff M, Moss B, Mulder C, Shurin JB, Suttle B, Thompson R, Trimmer M, Woodward G. Mesocosm Experiments as a Tool for Ecological Climate-Change Research. ADV ECOL RES 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-417199-2.00002-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 176] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
|
44
|
Mulder C, Ahrestani FS, Bahn M, Bohan DA, Bonkowski M, Griffiths BS, Guicharnaud RA, Kattge J, Krogh PH, Lavorel S, Lewis OT, Mancinelli G, Naeem S, Peñuelas J, Poorter H, Reich PB, Rossi L, Rusch GM, Sardans J, Wright IJ. Connecting the Green and Brown Worlds. ADV ECOL RES 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-420002-9.00002-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
45
|
O’Gorman EJ, Woodward G. Preface. ADV ECOL RES 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-417199-2.10000-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
46
|
Ecosystems and Their Services in a Changing World. ADV ECOL RES 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-417199-2.00001-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/14/2023]
|