1
|
Raimundo RLG. How cougars and feral donkeys change desert wetlands: Novel interactions between native predators and non-native megaherbivores shape trophic cascades in the Anthropocene. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2342-2347. [PMID: 36479678 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Research Highlight: Lundgren, E. J., Ramp, D., Middleton, O. S., Wooster, E. I. F., Kusch, E., Balisi, M., Ripple, W. J., Hasselerharm, C. D., Sanchez, J. N., Mills, M. & Wallach, A. D. (2022) A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands. Journal of Animal Ecology, (91, 2010-2022). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13766. Despite being absent from most regions of the contemporary world, megafauna species dominated the dynamics of ecological communities until the late Pleistocene. Trophic rewilding is a promising approach to restoring megafauna interactions, their functional roles and the consequent trophic cascades. Unintentional rewilding with large non-native herbivores, such as equids, offers outstanding opportunities for ecologists to understand the outcomes of using replacement species to restore the ecological functions of extinct native megafauna. In this context, it is relevant to understand the extent to which extant native predators can impose top-down control on non-native megaherbivores and how trophic cascades arising from novel predator-prey interactions influences biodiversity and ecosystem functions. In Death Valley National Park (United States), Lundgren et al. depict a natural experiment showing compelling evidence of native cougars overcoming ecological naïveté-that is, the mismatches between predator and prey species that do not share a common evolutionary history-and are now successfully preying on younger individuals of feral donkeys. These non-native donkeys, whose growing wild populations threaten the native biota, became cougars' most frequent dietary item in that region. In areas with cougars, donkeys changed their spatiotemporal foraging patterns, becoming diurnal and less active. On the other hand, donkeys remain more active and forage throughout the day and night in areas without cougars. The cougar-donkey interaction triggered a behaviourally mediated trophic cascade emerging from a 'landscape of fear', that is, from the perception of spatial heterogeneity in predation risk by donkeys. Areas with cougars have less trampled ground, fewer donkey trails, and much more canopy cover and vegetation around water. Donkeys concentrate their activity mostly in topologically plain terrains lacking proper sites for the ambush behaviour of cougars and with more intense human presence, likely acting as a shield against the predators. Lundgren et al. present a promising model system for studying the effects of fearful grazers on community structure in the context of novel ecological interactions being established in the Anthropocene. Whether the emerging cascade is transient or persistent, the relative roles of consumptive and non-consumptive effects as underlying mechanisms, and their consequences for food web structure, functioning and stability, are questions of general interest. Addressing them can help us to elucidate the costs and benefits of using non-native megaherbivores in the functional restoration of permanently invaded ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rafael L G Raimundo
- Department of Engineering and Environment and Graduate Program in Ecology and Environmental Monitoring, Centre for Applied Sciences and Education, Federal University of Paraíba - Campus IV, Rio Tinto, PB, Brazil.,Graduate Program in Biological Sciences, Centre for Exact and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Paraíba - Campus I, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Lundgren EJ, Ramp D, Middleton OS, Wooster EIF, Kusch E, Balisi M, Ripple WJ, Hasselerharm CD, Sanchez JN, Mills M, Wallach AD. A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2348-2357. [PMID: 35871769 PMCID: PMC10087508 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Introduced large herbivores have partly filled ecological gaps formed in the late Pleistocene, when many of the Earth's megafauna were driven extinct. However, extant predators are generally considered incapable of exerting top-down influences on introduced megafauna, leading to unusually strong disturbance and herbivory relative to native herbivores. We report on the first documented predation of juvenile feral donkeys Equus africanus asinus by cougars Puma concolor in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of North America. We then investigated how cougar predation corresponds with differences in feral donkey behaviour and associated effects on desert wetlands. Focusing on a feral donkey population in the Death Valley National Park, we used camera traps and vegetation surveys to compare donkey activity patterns and impacts between wetlands with and without cougar predation. Donkeys were primarily diurnal at wetlands with cougar predation, thereby avoiding cougars. However, donkeys were active throughout the day and night at sites without predation. Donkeys were ~87% less active (measured as hours of activity a day) at wetlands with predation (p < 0.0001). Sites with predation had reduced donkey disturbance and herbivory, including ~46% fewer access trails, 43% less trampled bare ground and 192% more canopy cover (PERMANOVA, R2 = 0.22, p = 0.0003). Our study is the first to reveal a trophic cascade involving cougars, feral equids and vegetation. Cougar predation appears to rewire an ancient food web, with diverse implications for modern ecosystems. Our results suggest that protecting apex predators could have important implications for the ecological effects of introduced megafauna.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erick J Lundgren
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | - Daniel Ramp
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | | | - Eamonn I F Wooster
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | - Erik Kusch
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Mairin Balisi
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, Claremont, CA, USA
| | - William J Ripple
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Chris D Hasselerharm
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jessica N Sanchez
- One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Mystyn Mills
- Department of Botany & Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Arian D Wallach
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, TD School, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Carver S, Convery I, Hawkins S, Beyers R, Eagle A, Kun Z, Van Maanen E, Cao Y, Fisher M, Edwards SR, Nelson C, Gann GD, Shurter S, Aguilar K, Andrade A, Ripple WJ, Davis J, Sinclair A, Bekoff M, Noss R, Foreman D, Pettersson H, Root-Bernstein M, Svenning JC, Taylor P, Wynne-Jones S, Featherstone AW, Fløjgaard C, Stanley-Price M, Navarro LM, Aykroyd T, Parfitt A, Soulé M. Guiding principles for rewilding. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2021; 35:1882-1893. [PMID: 33728690 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
There has been much recent interest in the concept of rewilding as a tool for nature conservation, but also confusion over the idea, which has limited its utility. We developed a unifying definition and 10 guiding principles for rewilding through a survey of 59 rewilding experts, a summary of key organizations' rewilding visions, and workshops involving over 100 participants from around the world. The guiding principles convey that rewilding exits on a continuum of scale, connectivity, and level of human influence and aims to restore ecosystem structure and functions to achieve a self-sustaining autonomous nature. These principles clarify the concept of rewilding and improve its effectiveness as a tool to achieve global conservation targets, including those of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Finally, we suggest differences in rewilding perspectives lie largely in the extent to which it is seen as achievable and in specific interventions. An understanding of the context of rewilding projects is the key to success, and careful site-specific interpretations will help achieve the aims of rewilding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Steve Carver
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Ian Convery
- National School of Forestry, University of Cumbria, UK
| | - Sally Hawkins
- Institute of Science, Natural Resources and Outdoor Studies, University of Cumbria, UK
| | - Rene Beyers
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Yue Cao
- Institute for National Parks, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Mark Fisher
- Wildland Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | - Cara Nelson
- W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, USA
| | - George D Gann
- The Institute for Regional Conservation, Delray Beach, Florida, USA
- Society for Ecological Restoration, Washington, D.C., USA
| | | | - Karina Aguilar
- Agencia Metropolitana de Bosques Urbanos del AMG, Guadalajara, Mexico
| | - Angela Andrade
- Commission for Ecosystem Management, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
- Conservation International Colombia, Bogota, Colombia
| | - William J Ripple
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - John Davis
- The Rewilding Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Anthony Sinclair
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Marc Bekoff
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Reed Noss
- Florida Institute for Conservation Science, Melrose, Florida, USA
| | - Dave Foreman
- The Rewilding Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Hanna Pettersson
- Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Meredith Root-Bernstein
- UMR CESCO, CNRS, Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
- Center for Applied Ecology and Sustainability, Santiago, Chile
- Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Peter Taylor
- Wildland Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Laetitia M Navarro
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig, Germany
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
| | | | - Alison Parfitt
- Wildland Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Michael Soulé
- Society for Conservation Biology, Washington, D.C., USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Rogers HS, Donoso I, Traveset A, Fricke EC. Cascading Impacts of Seed Disperser Loss on Plant Communities and Ecosystems. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012221-111742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Seed dispersal is key to the persistence and spread of plant populations. Because the majority of plant species rely on animals to disperse their seeds, global change drivers that directly affect animals can cause cascading impacts on plant communities. In this review, we synthesize studies assessing how disperser loss alters plant populations, community patterns, multitrophic interactions, and ecosystem functioning. We argue that the magnitude of risk to plants from disperser loss is shaped by the combination of a plant species’ inherent dependence on seed dispersal and the severity of the hazards faced by their dispersers. Because the factors determining a plant species’ risk of decline due to disperser loss can be related to traits of the plants and dispersers, our framework enables a trait-based understanding of change in plant community composition and ecosystem functioning. We discuss how interactions among plants, among dispersers, and across other trophic levels also mediate plant community responses, and we identify areas for future research to understand and mitigate the consequences of disperser loss on plants globally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haldre S. Rogers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Isabel Donoso
- Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, 07190 Esporles, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Anna Traveset
- Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, 07190 Esporles, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
| | - Evan C. Fricke
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Monteiro ECS, Pizo MA, Vancine MH, Ribeiro MC. Forest cover and connectivity have pervasive effects on the maintenance of evolutionary distinct interactions in seed dispersal networks. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erison C. S. Monteiro
- Depto de Biodiversidade, Inst. de Biociências, Univ. Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Rio Claro Brasil
| | - Marco A. Pizo
- Depto de Biodiversidade, Inst. de Biociências, Univ. Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Rio Claro Brasil
| | | | - Milton Cezar Ribeiro
- Depto de Biodiversidade, Inst. de Biociências, Univ. Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Rio Claro Brasil
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Waggershauser CN, Ruffino L, Kortland K, Lambin X. Lethal interactions among forest-grouse predators are numerous, motivated by hunger and carcasses, and their impacts determined by the demographic value of the victims. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:7164-7186. [PMID: 34188804 PMCID: PMC8216895 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
New vertebrate communities are emerging in Europe following the recovery of multiple native predators to highly anthropized landscapes where predator control is still prevalent. While the lack of reference points for these communities creates novel challenges for conservationists and wildlife managers, they also provide opportunities to further our understanding of species interactions. Despite a growing body of evidence, many aspects of interactions among predators remain poorly understood, impairing our ability to anticipate the effects of such changes in predator communities. Through a systematic literature review, we gathered all the available evidence concerning the existence, strength, and demographic impacts of lethal predator interactions among forest-grouse predators in Europe. We found a highly interconnected predator community, with 44 pairwise lethal interactions among 12 taxa. Three of these resulted in some degree of population suppression of the victim, while another three did not. However, most interactions (38) have not been evaluated for population suppression. Additionally, we highlight how predators interact simultaneously with a large range of other predators and identified at least two further taxa possibly suppressed through the combined impacts of multiple predators. We propose that interactions causing demographic suppression are characterized by impacts on individuals with high survival elasticity and that they are motivated by food limitation and additionally, in mammals, by competition for carcasses. Predator interactions, and our still poor understanding of them, introduce large uncertainties to conservation actions based on the management of predator abundances, which should be carefully evaluated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Xavier Lambin
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Stock M, Poisot T, De Baets B. Optimal transportation theory for species interaction networks. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:3841-3855. [PMID: 33976779 PMCID: PMC8093754 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Observed biotic interactions between species, such as in pollination, predation, and competition, are determined by combinations of population densities, matching in functional traits and phenology among the organisms, and stochastic events (neutral effects).We propose optimal transportation theory as a unified view for modeling species interaction networks with different intensities of interactions. We pose the coupling of two distributions as a constrained optimization problem, maximizing both the system's average utility and its global entropy, that is, randomness. Our model follows naturally from applying the MaxEnt principle to this problem setting.This approach allows for simulating changes in species relative densities as well as to disentangle the impact of trait matching and neutral forces.We provide a framework for estimating the pairwise species utilities from data. Experimentally, we show how to use this framework to perform trait matching and predict the coupling in pollination and host-parasite networks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michiel Stock
- Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical ModellingGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| | - Timothée Poisot
- Département de Sciences BiologiquesUniversitée de MontréalMontréalQCCanada
- Québec Centre for Biodiversity SciencesMcGill UniversityMontréalQCCanada
| | - Bernard De Baets
- Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical ModellingGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Meyer JM, Leempoel K, Losapio G, Hadly EA. Molecular Ecological Network Analyses: An Effective Conservation Tool for the Assessment of Biodiversity, Trophic Interactions, and Community Structure. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.588430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
|
9
|
Schweiger AH, Boulangeat I, Conradi T, Davis M, Svenning JC. The importance of ecological memory for trophic rewilding as an ecosystem restoration approach. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:1-15. [PMID: 29877019 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Revised: 05/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Increasing human pressure on strongly defaunated ecosystems is characteristic of the Anthropocene and calls for proactive restoration approaches that promote self-sustaining, functioning ecosystems. However, the suitability of novel restoration concepts such as trophic rewilding is still under discussion given fragmentary empirical data and limited theory development. Here, we develop a theoretical framework that integrates the concept of 'ecological memory' into trophic rewilding. The ecological memory of an ecosystem is defined as an ecosystem's accumulated abiotic and biotic material and information legacies from past dynamics. By summarising existing knowledge about the ecological effects of megafauna extinction and rewilding across a large range of spatial and temporal scales, we identify two key drivers of ecosystem responses to trophic rewilding: (i) impact potential of (re)introduced megafauna, and (ii) ecological memory characterising the focal ecosystem. The impact potential of (re)introduced megafauna species can be estimated from species properties such as lifetime per capita engineering capacity, population density, home range size and niche overlap with resident species. The importance of ecological memory characterising the focal ecosystem depends on (i) the absolute time since megafauna loss, (ii) the speed of abiotic and biotic turnover, (iii) the strength of species interactions characterising the focal ecosystem, and (iv) the compensatory capacity of surrounding source ecosystems. These properties related to the focal and surrounding ecosystems mediate material and information legacies (its ecological memory) and modulate the net ecosystem impact of (re)introduced megafauna species. We provide practical advice about how to quantify all these properties while highlighting the strong link between ecological memory and historically contingent ecosystem trajectories. With this newly established ecological memory-rewilding framework, we hope to guide future empirical studies that investigate the ecological effects of trophic rewilding and other ecosystem-restoration approaches. The proposed integrated conceptual framework should also assist managers and decision makers to anticipate the possible trajectories of ecosystem dynamics after restoration actions and to weigh plausible alternatives. This will help practitioners to develop adaptive management strategies for trophic rewilding that could facilitate sustainable management of functioning ecosystems in an increasingly human-dominated world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas H Schweiger
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Plant Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany.,Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Isabelle Boulangeat
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.,University Grenoble Alpes, Irstea, UR LESSEM, 2 rue de la Papeterie-BP 76, F-38402, St-Martin-d'Hères, France
| | - Timo Conradi
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Plant Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Matt Davis
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Marjakangas EL, Genes L, Pires MM, Fernandez FAS, de Lima RAF, de Oliveira AA, Ovaskainen O, Pires AS, Prado PI, Galetti M. Estimating interaction credit for trophic rewilding in tropical forests. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:rstb.2017.0435. [PMID: 30348879 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Trophic rewilding has been suggested as a restoration tool to restore ecological interactions and reverse defaunation and its cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. One of the ecological processes that has been jeopardized by defaunation is animal-mediated seed dispersal. Here, we propose an approach that combines joint species distribution models with occurrence data and species interaction records to quantify the potential to restore seed-dispersal interactions through rewilding and apply it to the Atlantic Forest, a global biodiversity hotspot. Using this approach, we identify areas that should benefit the most from trophic rewilding and candidate species that could contribute to cash the credit of seed-dispersal interactions in a given site. We found that sites within large fragments bearing a great diversity of trees may have about 20 times as many interactions to be cashed through rewilding as small fragments in regions where deforestation has been pervasive. We also ranked mammal and bird species according to their potential to restore seed-dispersal interactions if reintroduced while considering the biome as a whole and at finer scales. The suggested approach can aid future conservation efforts in rewilding projects in defaunated tropical rainforests.This article is part of the theme issue 'Trophic rewilding: consequences for ecosystems under global change'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emma-Liina Marjakangas
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Luísa Genes
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CP 68020, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-590, Brazil
| | - Mathias M Pires
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP CEP 13.083-862, Brazil
| | - Fernando A S Fernandez
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CP 68020, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-590, Brazil
| | - Renato A F de Lima
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Alexandre A de Oliveira
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Otso Ovaskainen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway.,Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland
| | - Alexandra S Pires
- Departamento de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, RJ 23890-000, Brazil
| | - Paulo I Prado
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Mauro Galetti
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), CP 199, Rio Claro, SP 13506-900, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|