Abstract:The Atlantic Forest, one of the most biodiverse biomes in the world, is also one of the most endangered. In Paraguay, its remnants are mostly fragmented and isolated. The Paraguay Biodiversity Corridor is an initiative that is being developed to generate and maintain connectivity of the main conservation areas. With the objective to analyze the bird richness and occurrence in each of the core areas of this corridor, we gathered published data, details of the management plans, and bird surveys recorded during 2… Show more
“… Figure 1 ( A ) Map of the original extent of the Atlantic Forest in Paraguay (gray; from Olson et al 46 ) with the extent of forest remaining in 2019 (green), and the amount of forest lost between 2000 and 2019 (yellow; Hansen et al 21 ). ( B ) Map of the 2019 Atlantic Forest in Paraguay, with currently recognized protected areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2020), proposed Paraguay Biodiversity Corridor (PBC, sensu Esquivel et al 29 ), and the 2019 forest cover. The protected areas are: (1) Estrella Reserve; (2) Arroyo Blanco Reserve; (3) Cerro Corá National Park; (4) Kaí Rague Private Nature Reserve; (5) Laguna Blanca Reserve; (6) Mbaracayú Forest Nature Reserve; (7) Mbaracayú Binational Nature Reserve; (8) Carapá Nature Reserve; (9) Itabó Ecological Reserve; (10) Morombí Nature Reserve; (11) Capiibary Ecological Reserve; (12) Limoy Nature Reserve; (13) Itabó Biological Reserve; (14) Yvyty Rókai Nature Reserve; (15) Pykyry Nature Reserve; (16) Tati Yupi Nature Reserve; (17) Yguazú Nature Reserve; (18) Ypeti Nature Reserve; (19) National Monument Kuri’y; (20) Maharashi Nature Reserve and Moises Bertoni Scientific Monument; (21) Tabucai Nature Reserve; (22) Ybytyruzu Management Reserve; (23) Caazapá National Park; (24) Ybycuí National Park; (25) Ñacunday National Park; (26) Tapyta Nature Reserve; (27) San Rafael National Park; (28) Edelira Managed Resource Reserve; (29) Cuenca del Arroyo Tacuary Chopy Sayju Nature Reserve.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…7 B). Figure 7 Maps of stepping stones (blue), articulation points (white), and hubs (black) for the network of forest remnants ≥ 3 ha (gray), currently recognized protected areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2020), proposed Paraguay Biodiversity Corridor (PBC, sensu Esquivel et al 29 ) in (A) 2000 (n = 35,232 forest remnants ≥ 3 ha) and (B) 2019 (n = 42,081 forest remnants). Forest remnants are denoted by their centroid.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The Paraguay Biodiversity Corridor initiative is part of the project Paraguay Biodiversidad, a collaboration with Itaipu Binacional and the World Bank, with an objective of conserving biological diversity of global importance while promoting the sustainable land use in the productive area of the Bosque Atlántico del Alto Paraná and associated ecosystems in Paraguay 65 . This initiative proposed a corridor system for eastern Paraguay 29 in part informed by prior assessments for the larger Upper Parana AF Corridor network 66 . Based on the most current dataset from 2019, our results independently corroborate siting of some portions of this proposed green corridor and other proposed corridors in eastern Paraguay 17 , 29 (e.g.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This initiative proposed a corridor system for eastern Paraguay 29 in part informed by prior assessments for the larger Upper Parana AF Corridor network 66 . Based on the most current dataset from 2019, our results independently corroborate siting of some portions of this proposed green corridor and other proposed corridors in eastern Paraguay 17 , 29 (e.g. some stepping stones and hubs in 2019 are in/near the proposed corridor) and also highlight many regions outside of the proposed corridor that may facilitate connectivity.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In the early 1970s, approximately 73% of the Atlantic Forest ecoregion was forested 12 , but by 2013 less than one-third of the area was forested 17 . Recent efforts have started to document the biodiversity of this diminishing forest system 22 , 23 , 29 – 31 . The effects of forest fragmentation on this biodiversity are still mostly unknown.…”
The Atlantic Forest of eastern Paraguay has experienced extensive recent deforestation. Less than one-third of the region is forested, and the remaining forest largely consists of isolated remnants with potentially disrupted connectivity for forest fauna. We used a graph theory approach to identify those forest remnants that are important in maintaining landscape structural connectivity for mammals in this fragmented forest. We quantified structural connectivity for forest remnants over the period 2000–2019 at three levels: the entire network of Atlantic Forest remnants in eastern Paraguay; at 10 smaller, nested spatial scales (40–10,000 m) encompassing a range of potential mammalian dispersal abilities; and at the level of individual remnants. We used 10 graph theory metrics to assess aspects of network complexity, dispersal-route efficiency, and individual remnant importance in supporting structural connectivity. We identified forest remnants that serve as important structural connectivity roles as stepping stones, hubs, or articulation points and that should be prioritized for connectivity conservation. Structural connectivity was constrained for organisms incapable of travelling at least 9–12 km (farthest distances between nearest-neighboring forest remnants depending on whether smaller remnants were included or not) and was particularly limited for area-sensitive forest-specialist mammals. With the increased forest loss and fragmentation that is occurring, the connectivity of this system will likely be further compromised, but most of the remnants that we identified as playing important roles for structural connectivity were outside of the country’s proposed “green corridor,” indicating additional areas where conservation action can be directed.
“… Figure 1 ( A ) Map of the original extent of the Atlantic Forest in Paraguay (gray; from Olson et al 46 ) with the extent of forest remaining in 2019 (green), and the amount of forest lost between 2000 and 2019 (yellow; Hansen et al 21 ). ( B ) Map of the 2019 Atlantic Forest in Paraguay, with currently recognized protected areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2020), proposed Paraguay Biodiversity Corridor (PBC, sensu Esquivel et al 29 ), and the 2019 forest cover. The protected areas are: (1) Estrella Reserve; (2) Arroyo Blanco Reserve; (3) Cerro Corá National Park; (4) Kaí Rague Private Nature Reserve; (5) Laguna Blanca Reserve; (6) Mbaracayú Forest Nature Reserve; (7) Mbaracayú Binational Nature Reserve; (8) Carapá Nature Reserve; (9) Itabó Ecological Reserve; (10) Morombí Nature Reserve; (11) Capiibary Ecological Reserve; (12) Limoy Nature Reserve; (13) Itabó Biological Reserve; (14) Yvyty Rókai Nature Reserve; (15) Pykyry Nature Reserve; (16) Tati Yupi Nature Reserve; (17) Yguazú Nature Reserve; (18) Ypeti Nature Reserve; (19) National Monument Kuri’y; (20) Maharashi Nature Reserve and Moises Bertoni Scientific Monument; (21) Tabucai Nature Reserve; (22) Ybytyruzu Management Reserve; (23) Caazapá National Park; (24) Ybycuí National Park; (25) Ñacunday National Park; (26) Tapyta Nature Reserve; (27) San Rafael National Park; (28) Edelira Managed Resource Reserve; (29) Cuenca del Arroyo Tacuary Chopy Sayju Nature Reserve.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…7 B). Figure 7 Maps of stepping stones (blue), articulation points (white), and hubs (black) for the network of forest remnants ≥ 3 ha (gray), currently recognized protected areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2020), proposed Paraguay Biodiversity Corridor (PBC, sensu Esquivel et al 29 ) in (A) 2000 (n = 35,232 forest remnants ≥ 3 ha) and (B) 2019 (n = 42,081 forest remnants). Forest remnants are denoted by their centroid.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The Paraguay Biodiversity Corridor initiative is part of the project Paraguay Biodiversidad, a collaboration with Itaipu Binacional and the World Bank, with an objective of conserving biological diversity of global importance while promoting the sustainable land use in the productive area of the Bosque Atlántico del Alto Paraná and associated ecosystems in Paraguay 65 . This initiative proposed a corridor system for eastern Paraguay 29 in part informed by prior assessments for the larger Upper Parana AF Corridor network 66 . Based on the most current dataset from 2019, our results independently corroborate siting of some portions of this proposed green corridor and other proposed corridors in eastern Paraguay 17 , 29 (e.g.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This initiative proposed a corridor system for eastern Paraguay 29 in part informed by prior assessments for the larger Upper Parana AF Corridor network 66 . Based on the most current dataset from 2019, our results independently corroborate siting of some portions of this proposed green corridor and other proposed corridors in eastern Paraguay 17 , 29 (e.g. some stepping stones and hubs in 2019 are in/near the proposed corridor) and also highlight many regions outside of the proposed corridor that may facilitate connectivity.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In the early 1970s, approximately 73% of the Atlantic Forest ecoregion was forested 12 , but by 2013 less than one-third of the area was forested 17 . Recent efforts have started to document the biodiversity of this diminishing forest system 22 , 23 , 29 – 31 . The effects of forest fragmentation on this biodiversity are still mostly unknown.…”
The Atlantic Forest of eastern Paraguay has experienced extensive recent deforestation. Less than one-third of the region is forested, and the remaining forest largely consists of isolated remnants with potentially disrupted connectivity for forest fauna. We used a graph theory approach to identify those forest remnants that are important in maintaining landscape structural connectivity for mammals in this fragmented forest. We quantified structural connectivity for forest remnants over the period 2000–2019 at three levels: the entire network of Atlantic Forest remnants in eastern Paraguay; at 10 smaller, nested spatial scales (40–10,000 m) encompassing a range of potential mammalian dispersal abilities; and at the level of individual remnants. We used 10 graph theory metrics to assess aspects of network complexity, dispersal-route efficiency, and individual remnant importance in supporting structural connectivity. We identified forest remnants that serve as important structural connectivity roles as stepping stones, hubs, or articulation points and that should be prioritized for connectivity conservation. Structural connectivity was constrained for organisms incapable of travelling at least 9–12 km (farthest distances between nearest-neighboring forest remnants depending on whether smaller remnants were included or not) and was particularly limited for area-sensitive forest-specialist mammals. With the increased forest loss and fragmentation that is occurring, the connectivity of this system will likely be further compromised, but most of the remnants that we identified as playing important roles for structural connectivity were outside of the country’s proposed “green corridor,” indicating additional areas where conservation action can be directed.
The hooded capuchin (Sapajus cay) is an adaptable, generalist primate species found throughout eastern Paraguay with preferences for the Paraguayan Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest (BAAPA). BAAPA is one of the world's most critically endangered terrestrial habitats with more than 90% of its original cover lost to industrial agriculture. Given its charismatic characteristics, the capuchin species is a candidate flagship species for this ecoregion; however, its habitat preferences in BAAPA degraded fragments are unknown.
We develop a species distribution model using MAXENT to determine the remotely sensed microhabitat features associated with habitat suitability in forests that had experienced different levels of degradation. The model was fitted to presence‐only observations at two sites, Rancho Laguna Blanca and Nueva Gambach, to determine how hooded capuchin distribution is associated with remotely sensed habitat features in BAAPA fragments.
Wetness (mean and standard deviation), a measure of soil moisture and canopy closure, was found to be the most important driver at both sites. The capuchins showed a preference for more mature forest, bamboo dominated forest and flooded forest (that has experienced little selective logging in the past).
The capuchin was a forest obligate species and avoided crop fields. The monkeys were less likely to be found in degraded areas, even though they were still forested. As Paraguayan deforestation involves the creation of large crop fields separating BAAPA fragments, the probability that the hooded capuchin can move between those fragments is low.
The hooded capuchin is a candidate flagship species for an agroforestry reforestation programme to reconnect BAAPA fragments. We propose that combining native tree corridors with shade grown yerba mate and slash pine plantations would create habitat for the capuchin and other wildlife while helping to alleviate poverty in the area and the pressure that this causes on the forests’ natural resources.
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