Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical forest protected areas

Laurance, William F.; Useche, D. Carolina; Rendeiro, Julio; Kalka, Margareta B.; Bradshaw, Corey J. A.; Sloan, Sean; Laurance, Susan G.; Campbell, Mason J.; Abernethy, Katharine; Álvarez, Patricia; Arroyo‐Rodríguez, Víctor; Ashton, Peter S.; Benítez‐Malvido, Julieta; Blom, A.; Bobo, Kadiri Serge; Cannon, Charles H.; Cao, Min; Carroll, Richard; Chapman, Colin A.; Coates‐Estrada, Rosamond; Cords, Marina; Danielsen, Finn; Dijn, Bart De; Dinerstein, Eric; Donnelly, Maureen A.; Edwards, David P.; Edwards, Felicity A.; Farwig, Nina; Fashing, Peter J.; Forget, Pierre‐Michel; Foster, Mercedes S.; Gale, George; Harris, David J.; Harrison, Rhett D.; Hart, John; Karpanty, Sarah M.; Kress, W. John; Krishnaswamy, Jagdish; Logsdon, Willis; Lovett, Jon C.; Magnusson, William E.; Maisels, Fiona; Marshall, Andrew R.; McClearn, Deedra; Mudappa, Divya; Nielsen, Martin Reinhardt; Pearson, Richard G.; Pitman, Nigel C. A.; Ploeg, Jan van der; Plumptre, Andrew J.; Poulsen, John R.; Quesada, Maurício; Rainey, Hugo; Robinson, Douglas W.; Roetgers, Christiane; Rovero, Francesco; Scatena, Frederick N.; Schulze, Christian; Sheil, Douglas; Struhsaker, Thomas T.; Terborgh, John; Thomas, Duncan W.; Timm, Robert M.; Urbina‐Cardona, J. Nicolás; Vasudevan, Karthikeyan; Wright, S. Joseph; Arias-G., Juan Carlos; Arroyo, Luzmila; Ashton, Mark S.; Auzel, P.; Babaasa, Dennis; Babweteera, Fred; Baker, Patrick J.; Bánki, Olaf; Bass, Margot; Inogwabini, Bila-Isia; Blake, Stephen; Brockelman, Warren Y.; Brokaw, Nicholas; Brühl, Carsten A.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Chao, Jung Tai; Chave, Jérôme; Chellam, Ravi; Clark, Connie J.; Clavijo, José; Congdon, Robert A.; Corlett, Richard T.; Dattaraja, H. S.; Dave, Chittaranjan; Davies, Glyn; Beisiegel, Beatriz de Mello; Silva, Rosa De Nazaré Paes Da; Fiore, Anthony Di; Diesmos, Arvin C.; Dirzo, Rodolfo; Doran-Sheehy, Diane M.; Eaton, Mitchell J.; Emmons, Louise H.; Estrada, Alejandro; Ewango, Corneille; Fedigan, Linda M.; Feer, François; Fruth, Barbara; Willis, Jacalyn Giacalone; Goodale, Uromi Manage; Goodman, Steven M.; Guix, Juan Carlos; Guthiga, Paul; Haber, William A.; Hamer, Keith C.; Herbinger, Ilka; Hill, Jane K.; Huang, Zhilong; Sun, I‐Fang; Ickes, Kalan; Itoh, Akira; Ivanauskas, Natália Macedo; Jackes, Betsy R.; Janovec, John P.; Janzen, Daniel H.; Mo, Jiangming; Jin, Chen; Jones, Trevor; Justiniano, Hermes; Kalko, Elisabeth K. V.; Kasangaki, Aventino; Killeen, Timothy J.; King, Hen Biau; Klop, Erik; Knott, Cheryl D.; Koné, Inza; Kudavidanage, Enoka P.; Ribeiro, José Eduardo Lahoz da Silva; Lattke, John E.; LaVal, Richard К.; Lawton, Robert O.; Leal, Miguel; Leighton, Mark; Lentino, Miguel; Leonel, Cristiane; Lindsell, Jeremy A.; Lee, Ling-Ling; Linsenmair, K. Eduard; Losos, Elizabeth; Lugo, Ariel E.; Lwanga, Jeremiah S.; Mack, Andrew L.; Martins, Marlúcia Bonifácio; McGraw, W. Scott; McNab, Roan; Montag, Luciano Fogaça de Assis; Thompson, Jo; Nabe‐Nielsen, Jacob; Nakagawa, Michiko; Nepal, Sanjay K.; Norconk, Marilyn A.; Novotný, Vojtěch; O’Donnell, Sean; Opiang, Muse D.; Ouboter, Paul E.; Parker, Kenneth; Parthasarathy, Narayanaswamy; Pisciotta, Kátia Regina; Prawiradilaga, Dewi M.; Pringle, Catherine M.; Rajathurai, Subaraj; Reichard, Ulrich H.; Renton, Katherine; Reynolds, Glen; Reynolds, Vernon; Riley, Erin P.; Rödel, Mark Oliver; Rothman, Jessica M.; Round, Philip D.; Sakai, Shoko; Sanaiotti, Tânia Margarete; Savini, Tommaso; Schaab, Gertrud; Seidensticker, John; Siaka, Alhaji; Silman, Miles R.; Smith, Thomas B.; Almeida, Samuel; Sodhi, Navjot S.; Stanford, Craig B.; Stewart, Kristine M.; Stokes, Emma J.; Stoner, Kathryn E.; Sukumar, Raman; Surbeck, Martin; Tobler, Mathias W.; Tscharntke, Teja; Turkalo, Andrea K.; Umapathy, Govindhaswamy; Weerd, M. van; Rivera, Jorge Vega; Venkataraman, Meena; Venn, Linda; Verea, Carlos; Castilho, Carolina V.; Waltert, Matthias; Wang, Benjamin; Watts, David A.; Weber, William; West, Paige; Whitacre, David F.; Whitney, Kenneth D.; Wilkie, David; Williams, Stephen E.; Wright, Debra D.; Wright, Patricia C.; Lu, Xiankai; Yonzon, Pralad B.; Zamzani, Franky

doi:10.1038/nature11318

Cited by 995 publications

(759 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…How widespread are our observed fragmentation and defaunation consequences for tropical rainforest reserves? A recent worldwide survey has discussed that most reserves in the tropics exhibit signals of contemporaneous human disturbances (mainly fragmentation and defaunation) that are eroding biodiversity (5). As far as we know, no other study explicitly unravels the ecological causes of such processes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fragmentation also facilitates poaching of game animals (7,8), which, in turn, disrupts trophic interactions that are critical for the maintenance of species diversity (9,10). More specifically, fragmentation reduces population sizes of some shadetolerant tree species while fostering the presence of generalist and pioneer plant species (5,11). Additionally, defaunation is differential, leading to the disappearance or decline of medium and large herbivores (12), and favors the proliferation of large-seeded, shadetolerant tree species (13).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Forest fragmentation modifies the structure, diversity, dynamics, and species composition of arboreal communities through habitat reduction and edge effects on tree mortality and recruitment rates (2,3), liana proliferation (4), and invasive species (5). In addition, fragmentation reduces area of habitat necessary for many vertebrates (herbivores, seed predators, or seed dispersers) to maintain viable populations (6,7).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Anthropogenic disturbances jeopardize biodiversity conservation within tropical rainforest reserves

Martı́nez-Ramos

Ortiz-Rodríguez

Piñero

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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119

102

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Anthropogenic disturbances affecting tropical forest reserves have been documented, but their ecological long-term cumulative effects are poorly understood. Habitat fragmentation and defaunation are two major anthropogenic threats to the integrity of tropical reserves. Based on a long-term (four decades) study, we document how these disturbances synergistically disrupt ecological processes and imperil biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning at Los Tuxtlas, the northernmost tropical rainforest reserve in the Americas. Deforestation around this reserve has reduced the reserve to a mediumsized fragment (640 ha), leading to an increased frequency of canopy-gap formation. In addition, hunting and habitat loss have caused the decline or local extinction of medium and large herbivores. Combining empirical, experimental, and modeling approaches, we support the hypothesis that such disturbances produced a demographic explosion of the long-lived (≈120 y old, maximum height of 7 m) understory palm Astrocaryum mexicanum, whose population has increased from 1,243-4,058 adult individuals per hectare in only 39 y (annual growth rate of ca. 3%). Faster gap formation increased understory light availability, enhancing seed production and the growth of immature palms, whereas release from mammalian herbivory and trampling increased survival of seedlings and juveniles. In turn, the palm's demographic explosion was followed by a reduction of tree species diversity, changing forest composition, altering the relative contribution of trees to forest biomass, and disrupting litterfall dynamics. We highlight how indirect anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., palm proliferation) on otherwise protected areas threaten tropical conservation, a phenomenon that is currently eroding the planet's richest repositories of biodiversity.H uman activities operate as dominant drivers of biodiversity change and disruption of ecosystem processes in tropical forest ecosystems (1). Forest fragmentation modifies the structure, diversity, dynamics, and species composition of arboreal communities through habitat reduction and edge effects on tree mortality and recruitment rates (2, 3), liana proliferation (4), and invasive species (5). In addition, fragmentation reduces area of habitat necessary for many vertebrates (herbivores, seed predators, or seed dispersers) to maintain viable populations (6, 7). Fragmentation also facilitates poaching of game animals (7,8), which, in turn, disrupts trophic interactions that are critical for the maintenance of species diversity (9, 10). More specifically, fragmentation reduces population sizes of some shadetolerant tree species while fostering the presence of generalist and pioneer plant species (5, 11). Additionally, defaunation is differential, leading to the disappearance or decline of medium and large herbivores (12), and favors the proliferation of large-seeded, shadetolerant tree species (13). All these changes reduce tree diversity in forest fragments (14,15). Studies documenting the effects of forest fr...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anthropogenic disturbances jeopardize biodiversity conservation within tropical rainforest reserves

Martı́nez-Ramos

Ortiz-Rodríguez

Piñero

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

119

102

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“…Although delineation of protected areas indicates the conservation status, these statistics per se can poorly describe the condition within the protected areas and the effectiveness of the conservation management practices (Nagendra et al 2013). RS data can assist monitoring of both the protected sites and their surrounding areas, since the condition, changes, and pressures of the latter closely or equally affect the former (Laurance et al 2012). Different parameters may well be assessed by RS methods discussed in previous sections, e.g.…”

Section: Regulating Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote sensing for biodiversity monitoring: a review of methods for biodiversity indicator extraction and assessment of progress towards international targets

2015

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Recognizing the imperative need for biodiversity protection, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has recently established new targets towards 2020, the so-called Aichi targets, and updated proposed sets of indicators to quantitatively monitor the progress towards these targets. Remote sensing has been increasingly contributing to timely, accurate, and cost-effective assessment of biodiversity-related characteristics and functions during the last years. However, most relevant studies constitute individual research efforts, rarely related with the extraction of widely adopted CBD biodiversity indicators. Furthermore, systematic operational use of remote sensing data by managing authorities has still been limited. In this study, the Aichi targets and the related CBD indicators whose monitoring can be facilitated by remote sensing are identified. For each headline indicator a number of recent remote sensing approaches able for the extraction of related properties are reviewed. Methods cover a wide range of fields, including: habitat extent and condition monitoring; species distribution; pressures from unsustainable management, pollution and climate change; ecosystem service monitoring; and conservation status assessment of protected areas. The advantages and limitations of different remote sensing data and algorithms are discussed. Sorting of the methods based on their reported accuracies is attempted, when possible. The extensive literature survey aims at reviewing highly performing methods that can be used for large-area, effective, and timely biodiversity assessment, to encourage the more systematic use of remote sensing solutions in monitoring progress towards the Aichi targets, and to decrease the gaps between the remote sensing and management communities.

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“…This relationship is mirrored in the wider world by the fact that protected areas with active law enforcement generally fare better than those without (Laurance et al 2012 …”

Section: Threats To Western Lowland Gorillas and Central Chimpanzees mentioning

confidence: 97%

Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Western Lowland Gorillas and Central Chimpanzees 2015–2025

Maisels¹,

Williamson²,

Strindberg³

et al. 2015

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Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical forest protected areas

Cited by 995 publications

References 29 publications

Anthropogenic disturbances jeopardize biodiversity conservation within tropical rainforest reserves

Anthropogenic disturbances jeopardize biodiversity conservation within tropical rainforest reserves

Remote sensing for biodiversity monitoring: a review of methods for biodiversity indicator extraction and assessment of progress towards international targets

Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Western Lowland Gorillas and Central Chimpanzees 2015–2025

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