Taxonomic and functional diversity of mammalian assemblages in different regions of the Amazon

• Grant number: 25/00151-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Mathias Mistretta Pires
• Grantee: Kayane Ferreira Santana Trindade
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/03965-9 - Living on the edge: plant-animal interactions and the cascading impacts of Amazon Forest fragmentation, AP.TEM

Abstract

The Amazon Forest has the highest diversity among all biomes and hosts a considerably rich fauna of terrestrial vertebrates. Yet, the accelerated rates of habitat loss and fragmentation and the long history of hunting in certain parts of the Amazon have resulted in high levels of defaunation. Because defaunation is highly selective with large-bodied species often declining first followed by mid-sized species, defaunation generates a non-random pattern of species loss regarding species functional traits. By studying different areas subjected to different defaunation drivers we can learn how animal assemblages respond to different anthropogenic effects. We will use camera trap records from the three study areas in the Amazon Forest that differ in their levels of habitat loss, fragmentation, frequency of fires and hunting pressure, to investigate how these areas vary in the taxonomic and functional composition of mammal assemblages.