Conservation implications of a limited avian cross-habitat spillover in pasture lands

Author(s)

Boesing, Andrea Larissa ^[1] ; Marques, Thiago Simon ^[2] ; Martinelli, Luiz Antonio ^[3] ; Nichols, Elizabeth ^[1] ; Siqueira, Paulo Ricardo ^[4] ; Beier, Christian ^[5] ; de Camargo, Plinio Barbosa ^[3] ; Metzger, Jean Paul ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Ecol, Rua Matao 321, Travessa 14, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sorocaba, Ctr Environm Studies, Rodovia Raposo Tavares Km 92 A 100, BR-18023000 Sorocaba, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, Ave Centenario 303, BR-13416000 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Minas Gerais, Dept Gen Biol, Ave Antonio Carlos 6627, BR-31270901 Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

^[5] Pontificia Univ Catolica Rio Grande do Sul, Programa Posgrad Ecol & Evolucho Biodiversidade, Museu Ciencias & Tecnol, Lab Ornitol, Ave Ipiranga 6681, BR-90619900 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Biological Conservation; v. 253, JAN 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Increasing evidence demonstrates a role for the cross-habitat spillover process in the maintenance of biodiversity in managed agricultural landscapes. However, the mechanisms that drive this process are less well understood. In particular, it is critical to know how landscape structure modulates spillover movements, and whether species are moving through the matrix to acquire resources or simply to disperse between habitat fragments. We tested landscape effects and food resource use within cattle pasture matrices. We used mist-nets to collect data on avian communities across 51 sampling sites, spanning a forest cover gradient. We additionally integrated stable isotopic analysis (delta C-13 signature) to determine the provenance of resources used (either forest - dominated by C-3 plants; or pasture, dominated by C-4). Bird movement across pasture matrices was extremely reduced, and bird occupation was concentrated near forest edges. There was a clear distinction of resource use according to species' habitat preferences, with forest-species foraging predominantly in-forests, open-area species in pastures, and generalist species having more varied diets, but still relying on a large proportion of C-3 sources. Forest cover was unrelated to avian spillover from forests into pastures, but positively related to C-3 signatures for both forest and open-area associated species. Finally, we found that most birds moving from forests to pastures were habitat generalists (63%), and that pastures work as a barrier for forest-associated species movement. Landscapes dominated by pasture are very unfavorable to the conservation of forest species, but potentially can maintain ecosystem services from the spillover of generalist species. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/23457-6 - Interface project: relationships among landscape structure, ecological processes, biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Grantee: Jean Paul Walter Metzger
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/11032-0 - Trophic ecology of mammals in anthropic environments through the stable isotopes methodology
• Grantee: Thiago Simon Marques
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/26093-6 - Avian cross-habitat spillover into Brazilian coffee farms and implications for pest control provisioning
• Grantee: Andrea Larissa Boesing
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 19/13802-4 - Integrating movement ecology to ecosystem service provision assessments
• Grantee: Andrea Larissa Boesing
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 13/12777-0 - Influence of landscape composition and avian functional and phylogenetic diversity on agricultural pest control services
• Grantee: Andrea Larissa Boesing
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate