Design matters: An evaluation of the impact of small man-made forest clearings on tropical bats using a before-after-control-impact design

Rocha, Ricardo; Ovaskainen, Otso; López‐Baucells, Adrià; Farneda, Fábio Z.; Ferreira, Diogo F.; Bobrowiec, Paulo Estefano Dineli; Cabeza, Mar; Palmeirim, Jorge M.; Meyer, Christoph F. J.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2017.06.053

Cited by 32 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 84 publications

(91 reference statements)

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“…Matrix regeneration increased the connectivity between forest fragments and continuous forest sites in our study area (Rocha et al, 2017b). However, the majority of bat species in small fragments (≤10 ha) depend on their ability to use the matrix (Farneda et al, 2015), and although some species have recolonized the fragments (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…and 10 ha fragment interiors jointly because they did not differ significantly in species richness (see Rocha et al, 2017b). We also considered secondary forest as a single habitat due to small sample size for Cecropia-(three sites) and Vismia-dominated regrowth (four), and because none of the most common bat species differed significantly in abundance between these habitats (see Bobrowiec and Gribel, 2010).…”

Section: Bat Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functional recovery of Amazonian bat assemblages following secondary forest succession

Farneda

Rocha

López‐Baucells

et al. 2018

Biological Conservation

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Regenerating forests occupy large areas in the tropics, mostly as a result of deforestation for livestock and agriculture, followed by land abandonment. Despite the importance of regenerating secondary forests for tropical biodiversity conservation, studies of temporal effects of matrix regeneration on species responses in fragmented landscapes are scarce. Here, we used an Amazonian whole-ecosystem fragmentation experiment to investigate how changes in matrix quality over time through secondary forest regeneration affect bat assemblages from a functional perspective. We found that forest regeneration in the matrix positively affected functional α diversity, as well as species-and community-level functional uniqueness, reflecting an increase of species that perform different ecological functions in secondary forest over time. According to functional trait composition, animalivorous species showed the clearest signs of recovery associated with matrix regeneration. Consequently, between-period differences in functional β-diversity were highest in secondary forest compared to fragments and continuous forest, determined mainly by trait gains. However, ~30 years of secondary forest regeneration were not sufficient for the functional recovery of bat assemblages to levels observed in continuous forest. Restoring degraded habitats while protecting primary forest will be an important strategy for safeguarding high functional diversity of bats and their vital contributions to ecosystem functioning in fragmented tropical landscapes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Bat Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional recovery of Amazonian bat assemblages following secondary forest succession

Farneda

Rocha

López‐Baucells

et al. 2018

Biological Conservation

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“…All fragments were initially isolated from nearby intact forest in the early 1980s and are now surrounded by a matrix of secondary regrowth forest [39]. To maintain isolation, a 100 m-wide area around each fragment was cleared on 3-4 occasions prior this study (most recently between 1999 and 2001) and again in 2014 [40].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Forest Fragmentation on the Vertical Stratification of Neotropical Bats

et al. 2020

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Vertical stratification is a key component of the biological complexity of rainforests. Understanding community- and species-level responses to disturbance across forest strata is paramount for evidence-based conservation and management. However, even for bats, known to extensively explore multiple layers of the complex three-dimensional forest space, studies are biased towards understory-based surveys and only few assessments of vertical stratification were done in fragmented landscapes. Using both ground and canopy mist-nets, we investigated how the vertical structure of bat assemblages is influenced by forest fragmentation in the experimentally fragmented landscape of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Central Amazon, Brazil. Over a three year-period, we captured 3077 individuals of 46 species in continuous forest (CF) and in 1, 10 and 100 ha forest fragments. In both CF and forest fragments, the upper forest strata sustained more diverse bat assemblages than the equivalent understory layer, and the midstory layers had significantly higher bat abundance in fragments than in CF. Artibeus lituratus and Rhinophylla pumilio exhibited significant shifts in their vertical stratification patterns between CF and fragments (e.g., R. pumilio was more associated with the upper strata in fragments than in CF). Altogether, our study suggests that fragmentation modulates the vertical stratification of bat assemblages.

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“…10 years. Prior to this study, the most recent re-isolation occurred between 1999 and 2001 (Rocha et al 2017b).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Erosion of phylogenetic diversity in Neotropical bat assemblages: findings from a whole-ecosystem fragmentation experiment

et al. 2019

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The traditional focus on taxonomic diversity metrics for investigating species responses to habitat loss and fragmentation has limited our understanding of how biodiversity is impacted by habitat modification. This is particularly true for taxonomic groups such as bats which exhibit species-specific responses. Here, we investigate phylogenetic alpha and beta diversity of Neotropical bat assemblages across two environmental gradients, one in habitat quality and one in habitat amount. We surveyed bats in 39 sites located across a whole-ecosystem fragmentation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon, representing a gradient of habitat quality (interior-edge-matrix, hereafter IEM) in both continuous forest and forest fragments of different sizes (1, 10, and 100 ha; forest size gradient). For each habitat category, we quantified alpha and beta phylogenetic diversity, then used linear mixedeffects models and cluster analysis to explore how forest area and IEM gradient affect phylogenetic diversity. We found that the secondary forest matrix harboured significantly lower total evolutionary history compared to the fragment interiors, especially the matrix near the 1 ha fragments, containing bat assemblages with more closely related species. Forest fragments ≥ 10 ha had levels of phylogenetic richness similar to continuous forest, suggesting that large fragments retain considerable levels of evolutionary history. The edge and matrix adjacent to large fragments tend to have closely related lineages nonetheless, suggesting phylogenetic homogenization in these IEM gradient categories. Thus, despite the high mobility of bats, fragmentation still induces considerable levels of erosion of phylogenetic diversity, suggesting that the full amount of evolutionary history might not be able to persist in present-day human-modified landscapes. Communicated by Raphael K. Didham. Our study highlights the erosion of phylogenetic diversity of bat assemblages associated with habitat fragmentation and degradation in the world's largest and longest-running whole-ecosystem fragmentation experiment. This work advances our understanding of the effects of habitat modification on bats as key ecosystem service providers in tropical ecosystems.

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Design matters: An evaluation of the impact of small man-made forest clearings on tropical bats using a before-after-control-impact design

Cited by 32 publications

References 84 publications

Functional recovery of Amazonian bat assemblages following secondary forest succession

Functional recovery of Amazonian bat assemblages following secondary forest succession

Effects of Forest Fragmentation on the Vertical Stratification of Neotropical Bats

Erosion of phylogenetic diversity in Neotropical bat assemblages: findings from a whole-ecosystem fragmentation experiment

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