Evaluation of the experimental exclusion of vertebrates on the decomposition of three species of plants under different land uses in Atlantic Forest

• Grant number: 15/09092-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: September 04, 2015
• End date: December 03, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Grantee: Gabriela Garcia Medeiros
• Supervisor: Cristina Camargo Banks-Leite
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Imperial College London, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/01245-0 - Evaluation of the experimental exclusion of insectivores vertebrates on the decomposition of three species of plants under diferents land uses in the State Park Serra do Mar, nucleus Santa Virginia, BP.MS

Abstract

The diversity of the Atlantic Forest is threatened constantly due to habitat loss caused by the destruction and alteration of natural environments. The speed of degradation is very worrying, as many forest fragments are already small or the remaining habitat is highly disturbed and unsuitable for the existing fauna like mammals and birds.Many studies have shown that specialist mammals and birds (e.g. insectivores) are very sensitive to fragmentation of the environment and tend to disappear in open areas. The loss of these animals is likely to cause an increase in the density of arthropods and rates of herbivory, causing a top-down effect that may even influence the cycling of nutrients. This project aims to investigate how decomposition rates are modified by the experimental exclusion of insectivorous vertebrates in an area with different land coverage in the Atlantic Forest. Vertebrate exclusion plots and control plots will be allocated in areas with different land coverage to evaluate how the top-down effect and associated changes in nutrient cycling occur.Thus, it is intended to generate knowledge about the repercussions of forest fragmentation on ecosystem functions such as decomposition, and provide information that may assist in conservation practices and management.

Scientific publications

(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)

MEDEIROS, GABRIELA GARCIA; ANTONIO, JULIANA; HARRISON, MICHELLE; DELLA COLETTA, LUCIANA; SOLTANGHEISI, AMIN; BANKS-LEITE, CRISTINA; DUARTE-NETO, PAULO JOSE; MARTINELLI, LUIZ ANTONIO. ffect of vertebrate exclusion on leaf litter decomposition in the coastal Atlantic forest of southeast Brazi. Tropical Ecology, v. 63, n. 1, NOV 2021. (15/09092-0, 14/01245-0)