Connectivity maintain mammal assemblages functional diversity within agricultural and fragmented landscapes

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Magioli, Marcelo ; Micchi de Barros Ferraz, Katia Maria Paschoaletto ; Freire Setz, Eleonore Zulnara ; Percequillo, Alexandre Reis ; de Sa Santos Rondon, Michelle Viviane ; Kuhnen, Vanessa Villanova ; da Silva Canhoto, Mariana Cristina ; Almeida dos Santos, Karen Evelyn ; Kanda, Claudia Zukeran ; Fregonezi, Gabriela de Lima ; do Prado, Helena Alves ; Ferreira, Mitra Katherina ; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar ; Schmidt Villela, Priscilla Marqui ; Coutinho, Luiz Lehmann ; Rodrigues, Marcia Goncalves

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH; v. 62, n. 4, p. 431-446, AUG 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 16

Abstract

Despite major advances in mammal research, there are knowledge gaps regarding distribution, composition, and the functional role of mammal species within agricultural and fragmented landscapes. Also, there is a lack of knowledge about which factors influence mammal assemblages within agricultural ecosystems. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the contribution of forest cover, functional connectivity, drainage, and amount of sugar cane toward explaining the functional diversity of terrestrial mammals. We made an inventory of terrestrial mammals in an agricultural and fragmented landscape in an Atlantic Forest-Cerrado ecotone in southeastern Brazil, assessed the functional diversity of mammal assemblages, and proposed conservation strategies at the landscape level. Data collection occurred from September/2011 to August/2012 through a combination of complementary methods: active search; trapping stations; collection of fecal samples, which were identified by hair cuticle and fecal DNA analysis; and data from the literature. Functional diversity (FD) was calculated using a set of ecological traits including body mass, locomotion form, behavioral and dietary traits, and the environmental sensitivity of species. Akaike information criterion was used to compare generalized linear models between FD values and landscape metrics. Our results reveal a surprising insight about the role exerted by agricultural and fragmented landscapes, which still sustain impressively high biodiversity levels and a meaningful amount of ecological functions, indicating some resistance of species to pressure from the agricultural matrix and advancing urbanization. The amount of ecological functions performed by mammal species within agricultural and fragmented landscapes was similar to pristine areas and more preserved landscapes. Functional connectivity (amount of area assessed for species able to cross 200 m of matrix) was the most plausible model (wAICc = 0.873). Thus, we concluded that improving functional connectivity guarantees high FD values, and we demonstrate the importance of maintaining and restoring structural connections between fragment patches within these landscapes for species conservation and the maintenance of populations over time. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/10192-7 - Trophic ecology of carnivorous mammals of the Atlantic Forest: use of stable isotope and functional diversity for conservation
• Grantee: Marcelo Magioli
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/09300-0 - Trophic ecology, functional diversity and occurrence of terrestrial mammals in the Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros Ferraz
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50421-2 - New sampling methods and statistical tools for biodiversity research: integrating animal movement ecology with population and community ecology
• Grantee: Milton Cezar Ribeiro
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 09/16009-1 - Systematics, evolution and diversification of the subfamily Sigmodontinae in South America: the tribe Oryzomyini
• Grantee: Alexandre Reis Percequillo
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants