Species composition, ecological functions and ecosystem services by birds across forest-matrix interfaces in tropical disturbed landscapes

Author(s)

Fábio Monteiro de Barros

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Rio Claro. 2018-01-19.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências. Rio Claro
• Defense date: 2017-11-24
• Advisor: Milton Cezar Ribeiro

Abstract

Habitat loss and fragmentation have led to increasing biodiversity and ecosystem loss worldwide. In anthropogenic landscapes, several factors are kn own to modulate biodiversity and ecosystem services, mainly the amount of forest cover and matrix type and composition. Using birds as study object, in this thesis we basically aimed to quantif y composition, function and ecosystem services by birds occurri ng in two types of most common habitat interfaces across Atlantic forest in Brazil (forest - pastures and forest - eucalyptus), and tried to better understand how landscapes attributes help to drive the patterns found. In the chapter 1, we demonstrated that pa stures stands are able to provide higher potential provision of seed dispersal, pest control and pollination services by birds, however some limitation and particularities on these results are pointed and discussed. In the same chapter, we also highlighted the importance of habitat generalist birds as potential providers of ecosystem services as well as the presence of rural homesteads as likely seed dispersal facilitator in highly disturbed landscapes. In the second chapter, we verified that type of adjace nt matrix alters taxonomic and functional composition of bird communities inhabiting forest edges, and that an increase of forest cover may lead to a decrease in functional dissimilarities between bird communities within the both types of habitat interface s (forest - pasture and forest - eucalyptus). Lastly, in the final chapter, using simulation scenarios we tried to predict how some bird functional traits at forest edges tend to be distributed according to adjacent matrix type, forest cover and land use heter ogeneity. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/19732-1 - Functional richness and ecosystem services by frugivorous birds in fragmented landscapes
• Grantee: Fabio Monteiro de Barros
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate