Winners and Losers: How Woody Encroachment Is Changing the Small Mammal Community Structure in a Neotropical Savanna
Years of fire suppression, decreases in herbivores, and global climate change have led to shifts in savannas worldwide. Natural open vegetation such as grasslands and shrublands is increasing in wood density, but the effects for small mammals are not well understood. While most of the mammal studies...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.774744/full |
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| author | Luciana O. Furtado Luciana O. Furtado Giovana Ribeiro Felicio Paula Rocha Lemos Alexander V. Christianini Marcio Martins Ana Paula Carmignotto |
| author_facet | Luciana O. Furtado Luciana O. Furtado Giovana Ribeiro Felicio Paula Rocha Lemos Alexander V. Christianini Marcio Martins Ana Paula Carmignotto |
| author_sort | Luciana O. Furtado |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Years of fire suppression, decreases in herbivores, and global climate change have led to shifts in savannas worldwide. Natural open vegetation such as grasslands and shrublands is increasing in wood density, but the effects for small mammals are not well understood. While most of the mammal studies from the Brazilian Cerrado are concentrated in the core area of this large Neotropical savanna, its southern portions are suffering from biome shifting through woody encroachment. Herein, we surveyed a small mammal community from the southeastern boundary of Cerrado (Santa Bárbara Ecological Station) and evaluated the micro and macro environmental variables shaping community structure in order to investigate how the woody encroachment in the last 15 years may have influenced this assemblage. We recorded 17 species of marsupials and rodents along five distinct habitats in a gradient from grasslands to woodlands. Although richness was not affected by microhabitat variables, total and relative abundance varied according to habitat type and in relation to herbaceous, shrub, and tree density. Rodents such as Calomys tener and Clyomys laticeps were positively affected by increasing herb cover, Cerradomys scotti and Oligoryzomys nigripes by shrub cover, while the marsupial Didelphis albiventris had higher association with increasing tree cover. We detected an increase of 27.4% in vegetation density (EVI) between 2003 and 2018 in our study site, and this woody encroachment negatively affected the abundance of some small mammals. The open-area specialists Cryptonanus chacoensis and C. scotti had a decrease in abundance, while D. albiventris and O. nigripes were favored by woody encroachment. Our data suggest that woody encroachment is shifting community composition: small mammals often associated with grasslands and open savannas are likely to be negatively affected by woody encroachment; while species that rely on tree-covered habitats are likely to benefit from an increasing woody landscape. Therefore, forest-dwellers are gradually replacing open-vegetation inhabitants. Active management of open formations (e.g., with prescribed burning) may be needed to maintain Cerrado biodiversity, especially considering the open-area endemics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:40:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-db61631545bb4fe09081ea40b93b650d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:40:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-db61631545bb4fe09081ea40b93b650d2022-12-22T00:07:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2021-12-01910.3389/fevo.2021.774744774744Winners and Losers: How Woody Encroachment Is Changing the Small Mammal Community Structure in a Neotropical SavannaLuciana O. Furtado0Luciana O. Furtado1Giovana Ribeiro Felicio2Paula Rocha Lemos3Alexander V. Christianini4Marcio Martins5Ana Paula Carmignotto6Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Ecologia Aplicada, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz,” Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, BrazilLaboratório de Diversidade Animal, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Sorocaba, BrazilLaboratório de Diversidade Animal, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Sorocaba, BrazilOrquidário Municipal de Santos, Santos, BrazilLaboratório de Interações entre Animais e Plantas, Departamento de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Sorocaba, BrazilDepartamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilLaboratório de Diversidade Animal, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Sorocaba, BrazilYears of fire suppression, decreases in herbivores, and global climate change have led to shifts in savannas worldwide. Natural open vegetation such as grasslands and shrublands is increasing in wood density, but the effects for small mammals are not well understood. While most of the mammal studies from the Brazilian Cerrado are concentrated in the core area of this large Neotropical savanna, its southern portions are suffering from biome shifting through woody encroachment. Herein, we surveyed a small mammal community from the southeastern boundary of Cerrado (Santa Bárbara Ecological Station) and evaluated the micro and macro environmental variables shaping community structure in order to investigate how the woody encroachment in the last 15 years may have influenced this assemblage. We recorded 17 species of marsupials and rodents along five distinct habitats in a gradient from grasslands to woodlands. Although richness was not affected by microhabitat variables, total and relative abundance varied according to habitat type and in relation to herbaceous, shrub, and tree density. Rodents such as Calomys tener and Clyomys laticeps were positively affected by increasing herb cover, Cerradomys scotti and Oligoryzomys nigripes by shrub cover, while the marsupial Didelphis albiventris had higher association with increasing tree cover. We detected an increase of 27.4% in vegetation density (EVI) between 2003 and 2018 in our study site, and this woody encroachment negatively affected the abundance of some small mammals. The open-area specialists Cryptonanus chacoensis and C. scotti had a decrease in abundance, while D. albiventris and O. nigripes were favored by woody encroachment. Our data suggest that woody encroachment is shifting community composition: small mammals often associated with grasslands and open savannas are likely to be negatively affected by woody encroachment; while species that rely on tree-covered habitats are likely to benefit from an increasing woody landscape. Therefore, forest-dwellers are gradually replacing open-vegetation inhabitants. Active management of open formations (e.g., with prescribed burning) may be needed to maintain Cerrado biodiversity, especially considering the open-area endemics.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.774744/fullCerrado (Brazilian savanna)DidelphimorphiaEVImicrohabitat selectivityhabitat useRodentia |
| spellingShingle | Luciana O. Furtado Luciana O. Furtado Giovana Ribeiro Felicio Paula Rocha Lemos Alexander V. Christianini Marcio Martins Ana Paula Carmignotto Winners and Losers: How Woody Encroachment Is Changing the Small Mammal Community Structure in a Neotropical Savanna Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) Didelphimorphia EVI microhabitat selectivity habitat use Rodentia |
| title | Winners and Losers: How Woody Encroachment Is Changing the Small Mammal Community Structure in a Neotropical Savanna |
| title_full | Winners and Losers: How Woody Encroachment Is Changing the Small Mammal Community Structure in a Neotropical Savanna |
| title_fullStr | Winners and Losers: How Woody Encroachment Is Changing the Small Mammal Community Structure in a Neotropical Savanna |
| title_full_unstemmed | Winners and Losers: How Woody Encroachment Is Changing the Small Mammal Community Structure in a Neotropical Savanna |
| title_short | Winners and Losers: How Woody Encroachment Is Changing the Small Mammal Community Structure in a Neotropical Savanna |
| title_sort | winners and losers how woody encroachment is changing the small mammal community structure in a neotropical savanna |
| topic | Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) Didelphimorphia EVI microhabitat selectivity habitat use Rodentia |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.774744/full |
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