Resilience and extinction of large and medium sized mammals in fragmented landscapes of Atlantic seasonal

• Grant number: 12/24765-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2013
• End date: September 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Mauro Galetti Rodrigues
• Grantee: Gabrielle Cristina Beca
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 07/03392-6 - Effects of the defaunation gradient on plant herbivory, seed predation and dispersal: the Atlantic Rainforest perspective, AP.TEM

Abstract

Habitat loss and fragmentation are processes identified as known threats to biodiversity, especially in landscapes with a long history of occupation and with little native vegetation cover. Several studies suggest the existence of a fragmentation threshold, below the local species richness and abundance becomes dependent only on the size of the fragments. The Atlantic Forest in the state of São Paulo is one of the most fragmented ecosystems, with only 11% of its original vegetation. Although highly fragmented, we do not know the composition of mammal species in this landscape. The present study aims to (1) analyze the composition of large and medium sized mammals in a gradient of vegetation cover in nine landscapes, (2) compile published data of the richness and composition of mammals in seasonal forests in São Paulo and (3) test if there is a threshold of species richness depending on the configuration of the landscape. (AU)