Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified Landscapes
Global biodiversity is threatened by land-use changes through human activities. This is mainly due to the conversion of continuous forests into forest fragments surrounded by anthropogenic matrices. In general, sensitive species are lost while species adapted to disturbances succeed in altered envir...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.640210/full |
| _version_ | 1818889505923399680 |
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| author | Ícaro Menezes Pinto Carine Emer Carine Emer Eliana Cazetta José Carlos Morante-Filho |
| author_facet | Ícaro Menezes Pinto Carine Emer Carine Emer Eliana Cazetta José Carlos Morante-Filho |
| author_sort | Ícaro Menezes Pinto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global biodiversity is threatened by land-use changes through human activities. This is mainly due to the conversion of continuous forests into forest fragments surrounded by anthropogenic matrices. In general, sensitive species are lost while species adapted to disturbances succeed in altered environments. However, whether the interactions performed by the persisting species are also modified, and how it scales up to the network level throughout the landscape are virtually unknown in most tropical hotspots of biodiversity. Here we evaluated how landscape predictors (forest cover, total core area, edge density, inter-patch isolation) and local characteristics (fruit availability, vegetation complexity) affected understory birds seed-dispersal networks in 19 forest fragments along the hyperdiverse but highly depauperate northeast distribution of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Also, our sampled sites were distributed in two regions with contrasting land cover changes. We used mist nets to obtain samples of understory bird food contents to identify the plant species consumed and dispersed by them. We estimated network complexity on the basis of the number of interactions, links per species, interaction evenness, and modularity. Our findings showed that the number of interactions increased with the amount of forest cover, and it was significantly lower in the more deforested region. None of the other evaluated parameters were affected by any other landscape or local predictors. We also observed a lack of significant network structure compared to null models, which we attribute to a pervasive impoverishment of bird and plant communities in these highly modified landscapes. Our results demonstrate the importance of forest cover not only to maintain species diversity but also their respective mutualistic relationships, which are the bases for ecosystem functionality, forest regeneration and the provision of ecological services. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T17:10:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43a46b2ed3f442aa9b374f6f3745f6ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T17:10:06Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-43a46b2ed3f442aa9b374f6f3745f6ec2022-12-21T20:13:03ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2021-07-01910.3389/fevo.2021.640210640210Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified LandscapesÍcaro Menezes Pinto0Carine Emer1Carine Emer2Eliana Cazetta3José Carlos Morante-Filho4Applied Ecology and Conservation Lab, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BrazilDepartment of Botany, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, BrazilDepartment of Biodiversity, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, BrazilApplied Ecology and Conservation Lab, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BrazilApplied Ecology and Conservation Lab, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BrazilGlobal biodiversity is threatened by land-use changes through human activities. This is mainly due to the conversion of continuous forests into forest fragments surrounded by anthropogenic matrices. In general, sensitive species are lost while species adapted to disturbances succeed in altered environments. However, whether the interactions performed by the persisting species are also modified, and how it scales up to the network level throughout the landscape are virtually unknown in most tropical hotspots of biodiversity. Here we evaluated how landscape predictors (forest cover, total core area, edge density, inter-patch isolation) and local characteristics (fruit availability, vegetation complexity) affected understory birds seed-dispersal networks in 19 forest fragments along the hyperdiverse but highly depauperate northeast distribution of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Also, our sampled sites were distributed in two regions with contrasting land cover changes. We used mist nets to obtain samples of understory bird food contents to identify the plant species consumed and dispersed by them. We estimated network complexity on the basis of the number of interactions, links per species, interaction evenness, and modularity. Our findings showed that the number of interactions increased with the amount of forest cover, and it was significantly lower in the more deforested region. None of the other evaluated parameters were affected by any other landscape or local predictors. We also observed a lack of significant network structure compared to null models, which we attribute to a pervasive impoverishment of bird and plant communities in these highly modified landscapes. Our results demonstrate the importance of forest cover not only to maintain species diversity but also their respective mutualistic relationships, which are the bases for ecosystem functionality, forest regeneration and the provision of ecological services.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.640210/fullBrazilian Atlantic Forestfragmentationfrugivoryfrugivorous birdshabitat losshabitat structure |
| spellingShingle | Ícaro Menezes Pinto Carine Emer Carine Emer Eliana Cazetta José Carlos Morante-Filho Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified Landscapes Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Brazilian Atlantic Forest fragmentation frugivory frugivorous birds habitat loss habitat structure |
| title | Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified Landscapes |
| title_full | Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified Landscapes |
| title_fullStr | Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified Landscapes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified Landscapes |
| title_short | Deforestation Simplifies Understory Bird Seed-Dispersal Networks in Human-Modified Landscapes |
| title_sort | deforestation simplifies understory bird seed dispersal networks in human modified landscapes |
| topic | Brazilian Atlantic Forest fragmentation frugivory frugivorous birds habitat loss habitat structure |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.640210/full |
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