Ecological consequences of defaunation in the Atlantic Rainforest

• Grant number: 14/01986-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Duration: February 01, 2015 - January 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Mauro Galetti Rodrigues
• Grantee: Mauro Galetti Rodrigues
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Milton Cezar Ribeiro
• Associated researchers: Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros Ferraz ; Laurence Marianne Vincianne Culot ; Maria Luisa da Silva Pinto Jorge ; Pedro Henrique Santin Brancalion ; Pedro Jordano ; Ricardo Siqueira Bovendorp ; Ronaldo Gonçalves Morato ; Tadeu de Siqueira Barros
• Associated grant(s): 17/50386-3 - Assessing threats to phylogenetic and functional diversity and the consequences on the provisioning of ecosystems services, AP.R SPRINT; 17/25605-3 - Participation on the XV Frugivory Course and Workshop on the Atlantic Database, AV.EXT
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/05538-5 - Influence of defaunation on the dynamics of tropical plant life forms, BP.MS; 18/00212-1 - Soil fertilization and dispersion of mycorrhizal fungi by mammals in the Atlantic Forest, BP.IC; 17/24252-0 - Anthropogenic predictors of biodiversity response to forest fragmentation in the Atlantic forest, BP.PD; + associated scholarships 17/03093-0 - Relating the ecological traits of neotropical mammals to defaunation, BP.IC; 16/25197-0 - Effects of defaunation on soil-plant interactions in tropical forest, BP.PD; 15/22844-1 - Diet of feral pig Sus scrofa in the region of Rio Claro, São Paulo, BP.IC; 15/19092-8 - Bats and their role with the carbon stock in the Atlantic Forest, BP.IC; 15/15172-7 - Effects of defaunation and introduction of exotic species on plant-seed dispersal interaction networks, BP.PD; 15/18381-6 - Reversing defaunation or increasing ecological degradation? Invasion ecology of feral pigs Sus scrofa in a defaunated landscape, BP.DD; 15/11521-7 - Defaunated movement: the role of animal behaviour and spatial interactions in mediating trophic cascades, niche partitioning and community dynamics in the Atlantic Forest, BP.PD - associated scholarships

Abstract

Humans are one of the major drivers in structuring vertebrate communities, altering food webs, with unprecedented consequences for ecosystem function. For instance, in tropical terrestrial ecosystems, hunters remove a large proportion of the standing mammalian biomass reducing population densities by 60-100%. Most of these vertebrates are large-bodied species in distinct trophic levels. Theoretical and empirical studies have found that apex consumers play a fundamental role in food web structure and stability in temperate biomes. Large-bodied forest dwelling vertebrates comprise important top predators, seed dispersers and herbivores, and their loss may lead to trophic cacades. Therefore, defaunation is likely to erode key ecosystem processes with far-reaching consequences. Current ecological knowledge indicates that apex consumers are fundamental in the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Human hunting in key elements of the food web may lead to trophic cascades, yet we lack information from non-fragmented tropical ecosystems. The Atlantic rainforest have more than 80% of the woody plant species dispersed by vertebrates and it is estimated that 88% of its area is under trophic cascade due to the extinction of apex consumers. Most of our understanding of trophic cascades is based on temperate biomes or fragmented landscapes, which cannot be easily extrapolated to larger scales. In this proposal, we seek to understand long-term effects of defaunation on trophic cascades, particularly in plant composition, and examine functional changes in forest dynamics and composition (diversity, functional organization and carbon stock) in continuous Atlantic Forest remnants. This proposal is part of a working group on "Pantropical Mammalian Effects on Plant Communities" organized by OTS (Organization of Tropical Studies) where several protocols will follow the ones used in Meso-america (México, BCI and La Selva), Africa and Asia. (AU)

Scientific publications

(39)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SOBRAL-SOUZA, THADEU; LAUTENSCHLAGER, LAIS; MORCATTY, THAIS QUEIROZ; BELLO, CAROLINA; HANSEN, DENNIS; GALETTI, MAURO. Rewilding defaunated Atlantic Forests with tortoises to restore lost seed dispersal functions. PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION, v. 15, n. 4, p. 300-307, OCT-DEC 2017. (14/01986-0, 13/22492-2)

GALETTI, MAURO; RODARTE, RAISA REIS; NEVES, CAROLINA LIMA; MOREIRA, MARCELO; COSTA-PEREIRA, RAUL. Trophic Niche Differentiation in Rodents and Marsupials Revealed by Stable Isotopes. PLoS One, v. 11, n. 4, APR 6 2016. (14/01986-0, 07/03392-6)

BOVENDORP, RICARDO S.; MCCLEERY, ROBERT A.; GALETTI, MAURO. Optimising sampling methods for small mammal communities in Neotropical rainforests. MAMMAL REVIEW, v. 47, n. 2, p. 148-158, APR 2017. (13/25441-0, 14/01986-0, 14/18800-6)

BECA, GABRIELLE; VANCINE, MAURICIO H.; CARVALHO, CAROLINA S.; PEDROSA, FELIPE; ALVES, RAFAEL SOUZA C.; BUSCARIOL, DAIANE; PERES, CARLOS A.; RIBEIRO, MILTON CEZAR; GALETTI, MAURO. High mammal species turnover in forest patches immersed in biofuel plantations. Biological Conservation, v. 210, n. A, p. 352-359, JUN 2017. (15/18381-6, 14/01986-0, 14/23095-0, 13/50421-2, 14/01029-5)

BUFALO, FELIPE SOARES; GALETTI, MAURO; CULOT, LAURENCE. Seed Dispersal by Primates and Implications for the Conservation of a Biodiversity Hotspot, the Atlantic Forest of South America. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, v. 37, n. 3, p. 333-349, JUN 2016. (14/01986-0, 14/14739-0)

VALVERDE, JAVIER; CARVALHO, CAROLINA DA SILVA; JORDANO, PEDRO; GALETTI, MAURO. Large herbivores regulate the spatial recruitment of a hyperdominant Neotropical palm. Biotropica, v. 53, n. 1, p. 286-295, JAN 2021. (14/01986-0)

BELLO, CAROLINA; CULOT, LAURENCE; AGUDELO, CESAR AUGUSTO RUIZ; GALETTI, MAURO. Valuing the economic impacts of seed dispersal loss on voluntary carbon markets. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, v. 52, DEC 2021. (13/22492-2, 14/01986-0, 10/16075-1, 14/14739-0)

AKKAWI, PAULA; VILLAR, NACHO; MENDES, CALEBE P.; GALETTI, MAURO. Dominance hierarchy on palm resource partitioning among Neotropical frugivorous mammals. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY, v. 101, n. 3, p. 697-709, MAY 22 2020. (14/01986-0, 15/11521-7)

MARJAKANGAS, EMMA-LIINA; GENES, LUISA; PIRES, MATHIAS M.; FERNANDEZ, FERNANDO A. S.; DE LIMA, RENATO A. F.; DE OLIVEIRA, ALEXANDRE A.; OVASKAINEN, OTSO; PIRES, ALEXANDRA S.; PRADO, I, PAULO; GALETTI, MAURO. Estimating interaction credit for trophic rewilding in tropical forests. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, v. 373, n. 1761, SI, DEC 5 2018. (14/01986-0, 13/08722-5)

MARJAKANGAS, EMMA-LIINA; ABREGO, NEREA; GROTAN, VIDAR; DE LIMA, RENATO A. F.; BELLO, CAROLINA; BOVENDORP, RICARDO S.; CULOT, LAURENCE; HASUI, ERICA; LIMA, FERNANDO; MUYLAERT, RENATA LARA; et al. Fragmented tropical forests lose mutualistic plant-animal interactions. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, v. 26, n. 2, NOV 2019. (14/18800-6, 14/14739-0, 13/08722-5, 17/08440-0, 14/01986-0, 13/25441-0, 17/21816-0, 15/17739-4, 17/09676-8, 13/50421-2)

BRADHAM, JENNIFER; JORGE, MARIA LUISA S. P.; PEDROSA, FELIPE; KEUROGHLIAN, ALEXINE; COSTA, VLADIMIR ELIODORO; BERCE, WILLIAM; GALETTI, MAURO. Spatial isotopic dietary plasticity of a Neotropical forest ungulate: the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari). JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY, v. 100, n. 2, p. 464-474, APR 24 2019. (15/22844-1, 14/50434-0, 16/15436-7, 15/18381-6, 14/01986-0)

BRANCALION, PEDRO H. S.; BELLO, CAROLINA; CHAZDON, ROBIN L.; GALETTI, MAURO; JORDANO, PEDRO; LIMA, RENATO A. F.; MEDINA, ARETHA; PIZO, MARCO AURELIO; LEIGHTON REID, J.. Maximizing biodiversity conservation and carbon stocking in restored tropical forests. CONSERVATION LETTERS, v. 11, n. 4, JUL-AUG 2018. (13/50718-5, 13/08722-5, 14/01986-0, 04/04820-3, 13/22492-2)

VILLAR, NACHO; SIQUEIRA, TADEU; ZIPPARRO, VALESCA; FARAH, FABIANO; SCHMAEDECKE, GABRIELA; HORTENCI, LUANA; BROCARDO, CARLOS RODRIGO; JORDANO, PEDRO; GALETTI, MAURO. The cryptic regulation of diversity by functionally complementary large tropical forest herbivores. JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, v. 108, n. 1, p. 279-290, JAN 2020. (15/11521-7, 13/50424-1, 14/01986-0)

PIRES, MATHIAS M.; GUIMARAES, JR., PAULO R.; GALETTI, MAURO; JORDANO, PEDRO. Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions and the functional loss of long-distance seed-dispersal services. ECOGRAPHY, v. 41, n. 1, p. 153-163, JAN 2018. (14/01986-0, 09/54422-8)

MENDES, CALEBE P.; CARREIRA, DAIANE; PEDROSA, FELIPE; BECA, GABRIELLE; LAUTENSCHLAGER, LAIS; AKKAWI, PAULA; BERCE, WILLIAM; FERRAZ, KATIA M. P. M. B.; GALETTI, MAURO. Landscape of human fear in Neotropical rainforest mammals. Biological Conservation, v. 241, JAN 2020. (15/18381-6, 15/22844-1, 14/01986-0, 14/09300-0, 14/23095-0)

NAGY-REIS, MARIANA; OSHIMA, JULIA EMI DE FARIA; KANDA, CLAUDIA ZUKERAN; PALMEIRA, FRANCESCA BELEM LOPES; DE MELO, FABIANO RODRIGUES; MORATO, RONALDO GONCALVES; BONJORNE, LILIAN; MAGIOLI, MARCELO; LEUCHTENBERGER, CAROLINE; ROHE, FABIO; et al. NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics. ECOLOGY, v. 101, n. 11, NOV 2020. (14/01986-0, 12/14245-2, 10/05343-5, 13/50421-2, 06/04878-7, 17/21816-0, 05/00405-4, 13/24453-4, 15/22844-1, 13/07162-6, 15/19439-8, 16/11595-3, 19/04851-1, 15/18381-6, 13/04957-8, 14/23095-0, 14/09300-0, 11/06782-5, 15/17739-4, 11/22449-4, 14/23132-2, 14/10192-7, 12/00534-2, 14/14925-9)

SALES, LILIAN P.; GALETTI, MAURO; PIRES, MATHIAS M.. Climate and land-use change will lead to a faunal ``savannization{''} on tropical rainforests. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, v. 26, n. 12, p. 7036-7044, DEC 2020. (14/01986-0)

BELLO, CAROLINA; CINTRA, ANA LAURA P.; BARRETO, ELISA; VANCINE, MAURICIO HUMBERTO; SOBRAL-SOUZA, THADEU; GRAHAM, CATHERINE H.; GALETTI, MAURO. Environmental niche and functional role similarity between invasive and native palms in the Atlantic Forest. Biological Invasions, v. 23, n. 3, NOV 2020. (13/22492-2, 14/01986-0, 14/04938-6, 17/09676-8)

BELLO, CAROLINA; GALETTI, MAURO; PIZO, MARCO A.; MAGNAGO, LUIZ FERNANDO S.; ROCHA, MARIANA F.; LIMA, RENATO A. F.; PERES, CARLOS A.; OVASKAINEN, OTSO; JORDANO, PEDRO. Defaunation affects carbon storage in tropical forests. SCIENCE ADVANCES, v. 1, n. 11, DEC 2015. (14/01986-0, 13/08722-5, 13/22492-2)

GALETTI, M.; BROCARDO, C. R.; BEGOTTI, R. A.; HORTENCI, L.; ROCHA-MENDES, F.; BERNARDO, C. S. S.; BUENO, R. S.; NOBRE, R.; BOVENDORP, R. S.; MARQUES, R. M.; et al. Defaunation and biomass collapse of mammals in the largest Atlantic forest remnant. ANIMAL CONSERVATION, v. 20, n. 3, p. 270-281, JUN 2017. (14/01986-0, 07/03392-6)

GALETTI, MAURO; GUEVARA, ROGER; NEVES, CAROLINA L.; RODARTE, RAISA R.; BOVENDORP, RICARDO S.; MOREIRA, MARCELO; HOPKINS, III, JOHN B.; YEAKEL, JUSTIN D.. Defaunation affects the populations and diets of rodents in Neotropical rainforests. Biological Conservation, v. 190, p. 2-7, OCT 2015. (14/01986-0, 07/03392-6)

GALETTI, MAURO; GUEVARA, ROGER; GALBIATI, LIGIA A.; NEVES, CAROLINA L.; RODARTE, RAISA R.; MENDES, CALEBE P.. Seed Predation by Rodents and Implications for Plant Recruitment in Defaunated Atlantic Forests. Biotropica, v. 47, n. 5, p. 521-525, SEP 2015. (14/01986-0)

EMER, CARINE; GALETTI, MAURO; PIZO, MARCO A.; JORDANO, PEDRO; VERDU, MIGUEL. Defaunation precipitates the extinction of evolutionarily distinct interactions in the Anthropocene. SCIENCE ADVANCES, v. 5, n. 6, JUN 2019. (14/01986-0, 17/25605-3, 16/18355-8, 15/15172-7)

CARREIRA, DAIANE C.; DATTILO, WESLEY; BRUNO, DAFINI L.; PERCEQUILLO, ALEXANDRE REIS; FERRAZ, KATIA M. P. M. B.; GALETTI, MAURO. Small vertebrates are key elements in the frugivory networks of a hyperdiverse tropical forest. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 10, n. 1, JUN 29 2020. (14/09300-0, 14/01986-0)

CULOT, LAURENCE; BELLO, CAROLINA; FERREIRA BATISTA, JOAO LUIS; ZARATE DO COUTO, HILTON THADEU; GALETTI, MAURO. Synergistic effects of seed disperser and predator loss on recruitment success and long-term consequences for carbon stocks in tropical rainforests. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 7, AUG 9 2017. (14/01986-0, 10/16075-1, 14/14739-0, 13/22492-2)

BOVENDORP, RICARDO S.; BRUM, FERNANDA T.; MCCLEERY, ROBERT A.; BAISER, BENJAMIN; LOYOLA, RAFAEL; CIANCIARUSO, MARCUS V.; GALETTI, MAURO. Defaunation and fragmentation erode small mammal diversity dimensions in tropical forests. ECOGRAPHY, v. 42, n. 1, SI, p. 23-35, JAN 2019. (14/01986-0, 13/25441-0, 14/18800-6)

FRIEDEMANN, PAMELA; CORREA CORTES, MARINA; RODRIGO DE CASTRO, EVERALDO; GALETTI, MAURO; JORDANO, PEDRO; GUIMARAES JR, PAULO R.. he individual-based network structure of palm-seed dispersers is explained by a rainforest gradien. OIKOS, v. 2022, n. 2, DEC 2021. (14/01986-0, 18/19011-6, 18/14809-0)

MAGIOLI, MARCELO; VILLAR, NACHO; JORGE, MARIA LUISA; BIONDO, CIBELE; KEUROGHLIAN, ALEXINE; BRADHAM, JENNIFER; PEDROSA, FELIPE; COSTA, VLADIMIR; MOREIRA, MARCELO ZACHARIAS; PASCHOALETTO MICCHI DE BARROS FERRAZ, KATIA MARIA; et al. Dietary expansion facilitates the persistence of a large frugivore in fragmented tropical forests. ANIMAL CONSERVATION, DEC 2021. (14/01986-0, 14/10192-7, 14/50434-0, 16/15436-7, 15/18381-6, 15/11521-7, 14/09300-0)

CRUZ, LIVIA R.; MUYLAERT, RENATA L.; GALETTI, MAURO; PIRES, MATHIAS M.. The geography of diet variation in Neotropical Carnivora. MAMMAL REVIEW, v. 52, n. 1, SEP 2021. (19/16025-9, 15/17739-4, 14/01986-0)

DALAPICOLLA, JERONYMO; ABREU, EDSON FIEDLER; DO PRADO, JOYCE RODRIGUES; CHIQUITO, ELISANDRA DE ALMEIDA; DE OLIVEIRA ROTH, PAULO RICARDO; DE GOES BRENNAND, PAMELLA GUSMAO; D'OLIVEIRA PAVAN, ANA CAROLINA; PEREIRA, ALEX; MENDES, FABIANA ROCHA; DEL VALLE ALVAREZ, MARTIN ROBERTO; et al. reas of endemism of small mammals are underprotected in the Atlantic Fores. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY, v. 102, n. 5, p. 1390-1404, OCT 2021. (10/14633-7, 16/24464-4, 16/20055-2, 13/25441-0, 14/01986-0, 14/18800-6, 15/02853-6, 12/15928-6)

VILLAR, NACHO; PAZ, CLAUDIA; ZIPPARRO, VALESCA; NAZARETH, SERGIO; BULASCOSCHI, LETICIA; BAKKER, ELISABETH S.; GALETTI, MAURO. Frugivory underpins the nitrogen cycle. FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, v. 35, n. 2, p. 357-368, FEB 2021. (14/01986-0, 16/25197-0, 18/20599-8, 15/11521-7, 13/50424-1, 18/00212-1)

MOLEON, MARCOS; SANCHEZ-ZAPATA, JOSE A.; DONAZAR, JOSE A.; REVILLA, ELOY; MARTIN-LOPEZ, BERTA; GUTIERREZ-CANOVAS, CAYETANO; GETZ, WAYNE M.; MORALES-REYES, ZEBENSUI; CAMPOS-ARCEIZ, AHIMSA; CROWDER, LARRY B.; et al. Rethinking megafauna. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, v. 287, n. 1922, MAR 11 2020. (14/01986-0)

CARREIRA, DAIANE CRISTINA; BRODIE, JEDEDIAH F.; MENDES, CALEBE P.; FERRAZ, KATIA MARIA P. M. B.; GALETTI, MAURO. A question of size and fear: competition and predation risk perception among frugivores and predators. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY, v. 101, n. 3, p. 648-657, MAY 22 2020. (14/01986-0, 14/09300-0)

EMER, CARINE; JORDANO, PEDRO; PIZO, MARCO A.; RIBEIRO, MILTON C.; DA SILVA, FERNANDA R.; GALETTI, MAURO. Seed dispersal networks in tropical forest fragments: Area effects, remnant species, and interaction diversity. Biotropica, v. 52, n. 1, DEC 2019. (15/15172-7, 14/01986-0)

VILLAR, NACHO; SIQUEIRA, TADEU; ZIPPARRO, VALESCA; FARAH, FABIANO; SCHMAEDECKE, GABRIELA; HORTENCI, LUANA; BROCARDO, CARLOS RODRIGO; JORDANO, PEDRO; GALETTI, MAURO. The cryptic regulation of diversity by functionally complementary large tropical forest herbivores. JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, AUG 2019. (14/01986-0, 15/11521-7, 13/50424-1)

GALETTI, MAURO; MOLEON, MARCOS; JORDANO, PEDRO; PIRES, MATHIAS M.; GUIMARAES, JR., PAULO R.; PAPE, THOMAS; NICHOLS, ELIZABETH; HANSEN, DENNIS; OLESEN, JENS M.; MUNK, MICHAEL; et al. Ecological and evolutionary legacy of megafauna extinctions. BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, v. 93, n. 2, p. 845-862, MAY 2018. (13/22016-6, 14/01986-0)

GALETTI, MAURO; BOVENDORP, RICARDO S.; GUEVARA, ROGER. Defaunation of large mammals leads to an increase in seed predation in the Atlantic forests. GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION, v. 3, p. 824-830, JAN 2015. (14/01986-0, 07/03392-6)

EMER, CARINE; GALETTI, MAURO; PIZO, MARCO A.; GUIMARAES, JR., PAULO R.; MORAES, SUELEN; PIRATELLI, AUGUSTO; JORDANO, PEDRO. Seed-dispersal interactions in fragmented landscapes - a metanetwork approach. ECOLOGY LETTERS, v. 21, n. 4, p. 484-493, APR 2018. (17/08406-7, 10/52315-7, 14/01986-0, 16/18355-8, 15/15172-7)

CARVALHO, CAROLINA S.; GALETTI, MAURO; COLEVATTI, ROSANE G.; JORDANO, PEDRO. Defaunation leads to microevolutionary changes in a tropical palm. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 6, AUG 18 2016. (14/01986-0, 14/01029-5)