Full text
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| Author(s): |
Bruno Trevizan Pinotti
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) |
| Defense date: | 2010-04-09 |
| Examining board members: |
Renata Pardini;
Alexandre Adalardo de Oliveira;
Pedro Luis Bernardo da Rocha
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| Advisor: | Renata Pardini |
| Abstract | |
By sampling 28 sites in different regeneration stages in a continuous Atlantic forest area, in this master thesis we aimed to contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms associated with the wildlife changes observed during tropical forest regeneration, and thereby better understand the value of secondary forests for the conservation of tropical biodiversity. In the first part of the thesis we investigated the influence of regeneration on aspects of forest structure and food availability considered to be important to several wildlife groups. We found deeper leaf litter, and higher woody debris volume and fruit availability of an abundant understorey palm in the older-growth areas, while in areas in earlier stages we found higher vegetation connection, higher ground-dwelling arthropod biomass, total fruit availability, and availability of fruits of the most abundant understorey plant species. These modifications may be related to the wildlife changes observed during forest regeneration. Species that rely on features only found in older-growth forests, such as open space for movement, higher complexity of the forest floor, or certain food resources, could find limitations in younger forests, whereas species which do not depend on these resources could benefit from the higher total food availability, or higher 102 vegetation connection for movements, found in these areas. In the second part of the study, we assessed the effect of regeneration and of structural attributes and food availability on endemic (forest specialist) and non-endemic (habitat generalist) terrestrial small mammal species. As expected, we found that a group of species (habitat generalists) proliferate in younger areas, while the other group (forest specialists) is more common, although more subtly, in older-growth areas. These patterns were partly explained by the measured variables, especially food availability. Apparently, the generalist species are benefiting from the increased food availability found in younger forests, while specialist species have greater ability to occupy older-growth areas, where these resources are scarcer. Therefore, our data suggest a trade-off between competitive ability and ability to use abundant resources, as predicted by the successional niche mechanism, initially proposed to explain the succession of plant species. The characteristics observed in younger forests favored the proliferation of habitat generalist terrestrial small mammals. However, the positive effect of forest regeneration on specialist species, of more conservation concern, was less pronounced, so that the secondary forests harbored a rich terrestrial small mammal assemblage, and may therefore be an important tool to increase the area and connectivity in highly modified landscapes, such as those found in the Atlantic forest. However, these results do not diminish the value of old-growth forests, especially in fragmented landscapes and for more sensitive wildlife groups. These forests should be protected, as well as the regeneration of the secondary forests should be guaranteed (and assisted, if necessary), so that these areas could acquire in the long term the necessary conditions to maintain the species and the groups of species most adversely affected by the secondarization of the tropical forests. (AU) | |