Using Plant–Animal Interactions to Inform Tree Selection in Tree-Based Agroecosystems for Enhanced Biodiversity

Peters, Valerie E.; Carlo, Tomás A.; Mello, Marco A. R.; Rice, Robert A.; Tallamy, Douglas W.; Caudill, S. Amanda; Fleming, Theodore H.

doi:10.1093/biosci/biw140

Cited by 32 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Conversely, 59 percent of our observations were of toucans (Ramphastidae), a group relatively resilient to habitat disturbances, capable of using a variety of forest and non-forest habitats, and that consumes a wide range of food items (Galetti et al 2000, Graham 2001), but that can also be threatened by hunting (Holbrook & Loiselle 2009). As over 25 percent of avian frugivores are extinction-prone globally, particularly forest-dependent and large-bodied birds (Pimm & Raven 2000, Sekercioglu et al 2004, Gray et al 2007, our findings should be used to slow the loss of frugivorous birds via management that increases or maintains tree cover across the landscape (Mendenhall et al 2011, McConkey et al 2012, Peters et al 2016.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…, Pizo & dos Santos ) and regeneration (Peters et al . ) among tree species whose seeds these frugivores disperse. Additional study of connectivity between fragments and external habitats would enhance conservation planning for large‐bodied frugivorous birds (Cardoso da Silva & Tabarelli , Ewers & Didham , Laurance ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study area, we suggest that additional tree habitat may serve as 'stepping stones' that provide connectivity between fragments. Consequently, maintaining or restoring tree cover in areas outside of fragments may increase frugivorous bird presence and movement at the landscape scale (Simberloff et al 1992, Prugh et al 2008, Mendenhall et al 2011, which facilitates gene flow (Sezen et al 2009, Pizo & dos Santos 2011 and regeneration (Peters et al 2016) among tree species whose seeds these frugivores disperse. Additional study of connectivity between fragments and external habitats would enhance conservation planning for large-bodied frugivorous birds (Cardoso da Silva & Tabarelli 2000, Ewers & Didham 2006, Laurance 2008.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Peters et al . ), whereas more extensive disturbance can negatively impact tree density and height (Aleixo , Gray et al . ).…”

Section: Species Information For Focal Frugivore Species Surveyed In mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the patch scale, smaller fragments may lack adequate resources to support frugivorous birds (Rolstad 1991), thereby increasing the probability of local extirpation (Marini 2001, Durães et al 2013. In forests with relatively open canopies, light infiltration can stimulate plant growth and increase habitat complexity and food availability (Hubbell et al 1999, Durães et al 2013, Peters et al 2016, whereas more extensive disturbance can negatively impact tree density and height (Aleixo 1999, Gray et al 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Landscape‐level tree cover predicts species richness of large‐bodied frugivorous birds in forest fragments

Walter

Browne

Freile³

et al. 2017

Biotropica

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Large‐bodied frugivorous birds play an important role in dispersing large‐sized seeds in Neotropical rain forests, thereby maintaining tree species richness and diversity. Conversion of contiguous forest land to forest fragments is thought to be driving population declines in large‐bodied frugivores, but the mechanistic drivers of this decline remain poorly understood. To assess the importance of fragment‐level versus local landscape attributes in influencing the species richness of large‐bodied (>100 g) frugivorous birds, we surveyed 15 focal species in 22 forest fragments (2.7 to 33.6 ha, avg. = 16.0 ha) in northwest Ecuador in 2014. Fragment habitat variables included density of large trees, canopy openness and height, and fragment size; landscape variables included elevation and the proportion of tree cover within a 1 km radius of each fragment. At both the individual species level, and across the community of 12 species of avian frugivore we detected, there was higher richness and probability of presence in fragments with more tree cover on surrounding land. This tendency was particularly pronounced among some endangered species. These findings corroborate the idea that partially forested land surrounding fragments may effectively increase the suitable habitat for forest‐dwelling frugivorous birds in fragmented landscapes. These results can help guide conservation priorities within fragmented landscapes, with particular reference to retaining trees and reforesting to attain high levels of tree cover in areas between forest patches.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Peters et al . ), whereas more extensive disturbance can negatively impact tree density and height (Aleixo , Gray et al . ).…”

Section: Species Information For Focal Frugivore Species Surveyed In mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Landscape‐level tree cover predicts species richness of large‐bodied frugivorous birds in forest fragments

Walter

Browne

Freile³

et al. 2017

Biotropica

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Floral resource availability from groundcover promotes bee abundance in coffee agroecosystems

Fisher

Gonthier

Ennis

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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Patterns of bee abundance and diversity across different spatial scales have received thorough research consideration. However, the impact of short- and long-term temporal resource availability on biodiversity has been less explored. This is highly relevant in tropical agricultural systems for pollinators, as many foraging periods of pollinators extend beyond flowering of any single crop species. In this study, we sought to understand how bee communities in tropical agroecosystems changed between seasons, and if short- and long-term floral resource availability influenced their diversity and abundance. We used a threshold analysis approach in order to explore this relationship at two time scales. This study took place in a region dominated by coffee agroecosystems in Southern Mexico. This was an ideal system because the landscape offers a range of coffee management regimes that maintain heterogeneity in floral resource availability spatially and temporally. We found that the bee community varies significantly between seasons. There were higher abundances of native social, solitary and managed honey bees during the dry season when coffee flowers. Additionally, we found that floral resources from groundcover, but not trees, were associated with bee abundance. Further, the temporal scale of the availability of these resources is important, whereby short-term floral resource availability appears particularly important in maintaining high bee abundance at sites with lower seasonal complementarity. We argue that in addition to spatial resource heterogeneity, temporal resource heterogeneity is critical in explaining bee community patterns, and should thus be considered to promote pollinator conservation.

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Plant species with the trait of continuous flowering do not hold core roles in a Neotropical lowland plant‐pollinating insect network

Hinton

Peters

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Plant–animal interaction science repeatedly finds that plant species differ by orders of magnitude in the number of interactions they support. The identification of plant species that play key structural roles in plant–animal networks is a global conservation priority; however, in hyperdiverse systems such as tropical forests, empirical datasets are scarce. Plant species with longer reproductive seasons are posited to support more interactions compared to plant species with shorter reproductive seasons but this hypothesis has not been evaluated for plant species with the longest reproductive season possible at the individual plant level, the continuous reproductive phenology. Resource predictability is also associated with promoting specialization, and therefore, continuous reproduction may instead favor specialist interactions. Here, we use quantitative pollinating insect–plant networks constructed from countryside habitat of the Tropical Wet forest Life Zone and modularity analysis to test whether plant species that share the trait of continuous flowering hold core roles in mutualistic networks. With a few exceptions, most plant species sampled within our network were assigned to the role of peripheral. All but one network had significantly high modularity scores and each continuous flowering plant species was in a different module. Our work reveals that the continuous flowering plant species differed in some networks in their topological role, and that more evidence was found for the phenology to support specialized subsets of interactions. Our findings suggest that the conservation of Neotropical pollinating insect communities may require planting species from each module rather than identifying and conserving network hubs.

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Using Plant–Animal Interactions to Inform Tree Selection in Tree-Based Agroecosystems for Enhanced Biodiversity

Cited by 32 publications

References 67 publications

Landscape‐level tree cover predicts species richness of large‐bodied frugivorous birds in forest fragments

Landscape‐level tree cover predicts species richness of large‐bodied frugivorous birds in forest fragments

Floral resource availability from groundcover promotes bee abundance in coffee agroecosystems

Plant species with the trait of continuous flowering do not hold core roles in a Neotropical lowland plant‐pollinating insect network

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