Emergent properties of species-habitat networks in an insular forest landscape

Palmeirim, Ana Filipa; Emer, Carine; Benchimol, Maíra; Storck‐Tonon, Danielle; Bueno, Anderson Saldanha; Peres, Carlos A.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abm0397

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 67 publications

(101 reference statements)

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“…A number of studies have demonstrated that habitat loss and insular fragmentation cause species local extinctions across lowland tropical forests (Gibson et al, 2013; Moore et al, 2022; Palmeirim et al, 2022; Pinto Henriques et al, 2021). Here, we contribute to fill an important knowledge gap by accordingly demonstrating overall negative bats response to disturbance across an insular fragmented landscape in Southeast Asia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By flooding the lowland areas, dam construction often creates insular forest fragments matching the previous hilltops that become isolated within an inhospitable aquatic matrix (Lees et al, 2016). Although recent efforts have been made to understand the ecological consequences of hydropower (Palmeirim et al, 2022; Terborgh et al, 2009), few studies have targeted the Southeast Asian forests (Jones et al, 2016). Such understanding is therefore considered a priority for biodiversity conservation in the region (Coleman et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Human activities and edge effects affect habitat quality within insular fragments, thereby influencing remaining species diversity (Benchimol & Peres, 2015a). Species responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation may further vary between (Palmeirim et al, 2022) and within biological groups (Brändel et al, 2020; Meyer & Kalko, 2008), as influenced by particular species traits (Meyer et al, 2008; Palmeirim et al, 2021). For instance, the persistence of mid-sized mammal species on islands can be related to their swimming capacity (Benchimol & Peres, 2015b), while that of lizard species is dictated by their thermoregulation mode (Palmeirim et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foraging guild modulates insectivorous bat responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation in peninsular Malaysia

Hazard

Froidevaux

Yoh

et al. 2023

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Despite mounting evidence on the ecological impacts of damming for biodiversity, little is known regarding its consequences in the hyper-diverse Southeast Asian tropical forests. Here we assess the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the diversity and activity of insectivorous bats within the hydroelectric Kenyir Lake in peninsular Malaysia. We surveyed bat assemblages on 26 islands and two mainland continuous forest sites using passive acoustic monitoring. Echolocation calls were classified into sonotypes, each corresponding to either one or multiple species, and grouped into foraging guilds. We then examined bat overall assemblage (sonotype richness, activity, and composition), guild- and sonotype-specific activity. From 9360 hours of recordings, we identified 16 bat sonotypes, including 10 forest (2854 bat passes), three edge (13 703) and three open-space foragers (3651). Sonotype richness increased towards denser forest structures (higher Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - NDVI), while species composition varied across the gradient of forest area. Forest foragers were positively affected by NDVI and negatively affected by distance to the closest neighbour, whereas edge foragers' activity increased in smaller islands. Of the six sonotypes analysed, the activity of one forest sonotype increased with forest area, while that of one edge sonotype decreased. Ensuring habitat quality within insular forest remnants, in addition to their functional connectivity, maximises bat diversity, including the persistence of forest foraging species. Future hydropower development should therefore avoid the creation of a myriad of small, isolated, and habitat-degraded islands further characterised by altered levels of bat diversity and guild-level activity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foraging guild modulates insectivorous bat responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation in peninsular Malaysia

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Froidevaux

Yoh

et al. 2023

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“…For the two continuous old-growth forest sites, we assigned an area value that was one order of magnitude larger than the size of the largest forest patch, measured on a log 10 scale. This approach is commonly employed in studies investigating species-area relationships (SARs; Palmeirim et al 2021Palmeirim et al , 2022. Management history and cattle intrusion were obtained from direct observations of cattle presence within the patches, indirect evidence (dung and tracks), and information provided by local landowners.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beta‐diversity buffers fragmented landscapes against local species losses

Dambros,

Junqueira Izzo,

Castuera de Oliveira

et al. 2024

Oikos

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Agricultural expansion has markedly reduced forests and reconfigured landscapes. These changes incur a well‐known detrimental impact on the biodiversity of local forest patches, but the effects on species persistence in entire landscapes comprised of multiple patches are debated. Using data from ants collected in the Amazonian deforestation arc in Brazil, we investigated how regional diversity is affected by habitat loss, fragmentation, and cattle grazing, and how species respond to deforestation both locally and regionally. We also investigated how the heterogeneity in species distribution (beta‐diversity) buffers landscapes against local diversity losses. We used hierarchical multi‐species occupancy models to estimate these effects while controlling for errors in species detection. The vast majority of the 251 ant species found in our study were negatively affected by both habitat loss and cattle at local forest patches, drastically reducing diversity at these patches compared to continuous forests. Despite local declines in diversity, however, heavily fragmented landscapes could still retain most species due to the high heterogeneity in species distribution. We found that beta‐diversity is the main component of regional diversity. Results from several studies suggest that this component is maximized when remnant primary habitats in a landscape are spread across vast areas. Although preserving local diversity may be important for the adequate functioning of the ecosystem locally, our results indicate that the maintenance of many small forest patches in a landscape can buffer regional biodiversity against local species losses. Our results suggest that even small forest remnants in otherwise deforested landscapes can collectively prevent most regional‐scale species extirpations, and therefore also merit conservation efforts.

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“…By flooding lowland areas, damming creates a myriad of insular forest fragments of various sizes and isolations, sitting on a uniformly inhospitable water matrix. Hydroelectric reservoirs therefore represent unique experimental settings to study the effects of habitat amount and configuration without confounding matrix or strong local-history effects (Diamond 2001; Palmeirim et al 2022; Semper-Pascual et al 2021). Using acoustic detectors, we surveyed bats across 28 landscapes of varying forest cover, edge density and number of patches at the landscape-scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indirect effects of habitat amount mediated by habitat configuration determine bat diversity at the landscape-scale in Peninsular Malaysia

Hazard,

Yoh,

Moore

et al. 2024

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The impacts of fragmentation are often overlooked in landscape studies investigating how habitat loss impacts biodiversity, despite the casual relationship linking both processes. As habitat loss is the primary cause of fragmentation, understanding the inter-related effects of these twin processes on biodiversity is key to minimise biodiversity loss. Here we assess how habitat amount and configuration influence insectivorous bat assemblages, considering both the direct effects of these processes, as well as the indirect effects of habitat amount mediated through configuration. Bats were acoustically surveyed along independent gradients of habitat amount (forest cover) and configuration (number of patches and edge density) across 28 insular landscapes embedded within a Malaysian hydroelectric reservoir. Using Structural Equation Modelling, the direct and indirect effects of habitat amount were examined on bat sonotype richness, total, and guild-specific activity (forest, edge and open-space foragers). Forest cover had a direct and positive effect on sonotype richness and forest forager activity. The quadratic relationship linking edge density and forest cover was strong and overall positive, but while below 30% of forest cover, increasingly forested landscapes had increasingly high edge densities, the opposite pattern was observed in more forested landscapes. On the other hand, increasingly forested landscapes consistently harboured less patches. Owing to the overall low habitat amount in our landscapes and negative edge effects, the indirect effects of forest cover (mediated through edge density) were therefore negative on sonotype richness, outweighing any positive direct effect. The number of patches had little effect on the bat assemblage, except on total activity which was higher in landscapes harbouring more forest patches. As a result, negative indirect effects of forest cover mediated through number of patches were only observed on total activity. Our results highlight that, in natural settings, habitat amount can hardly be altered without influencing habitat configuration, thereby preventing any independent management of these threats. Minimising habitat loss is therefore essential to balance the associated prevailing negative effects of fragmentation on insectivorous bats across tropical forests.

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Emergent properties of species-habitat networks in an insular forest landscape

Cited by 22 publications

References 67 publications

Foraging guild modulates insectivorous bat responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation in peninsular Malaysia

Foraging guild modulates insectivorous bat responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation in peninsular Malaysia

Beta‐diversity buffers fragmented landscapes against local species losses

Indirect effects of habitat amount mediated by habitat configuration determine bat diversity at the landscape-scale in Peninsular Malaysia

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