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Diversity
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Land-Use Change Impacts on Tropical Vertebrates
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Land-Use Change Impacts on Tropical Vertebrates

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2020) | Viewed by 21613

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Christoph Meyer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT, UK
Interests: tropical ecology; landscape ecology; habitat fragmentation and land-use change; biodiversity monitoring; vertebrate ecology, with emphasis on bats; community ecology; biodiversity conservation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Land-use change is one of the principal aspects of global environmental change and a key driver of biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems. Across the tropics, rampant deforestation and habitat conversion are resulting in landscapes that are increasingly fragmented and dominated by degraded forests and human-modified habitats. How vertebrates, key players in tropical ecosystems responsible for a range of crucial ecosystem services, respond to landscape transformation continues to be an active field of research given the need to better understand the complexity and dynamic nature of land-use change effects.

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for new empirical research and timely reviews that advance our knowledge about the effects of habitat conversion on tropical vertebrates. Particularly welcome are studies that integrate multiple dimensions (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) of biodiversity in relation to land-use change impacts, and those that investigate responses across variable spatial (local to landscape) and temporal scales (immediate to longer-term effects) as well as levels of ecological organization.

I cordially invite you to contribute your research to this forthcoming Issue.

Dr. Christoph F.J. Meyer
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Tropical vertebrates
  • Land-use change
  • Human disturbance
  • Tropical ecosystems
  • Habitat loss and fragmentation
  • Tropical forests

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 1928 KiB  
Article
Taxonomic and Functional Diversity and Composition of Bats in a Regenerating Neotropical Dry Forest
by Sergio Ramón Martínez-Ferreira, Mariana Yolotl Alvarez-Añorve, Angel E. Bravo-Monzón, Cristina Montiel-González, Jose Israel Flores-Puerto, Sharon Patricia Morales-Díaz, Xavier Chiappa-Carrara, Ken Oyama and Luis Daniel Avila-Cabadilla
Diversity 2020, 12(9), 332; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12090332 - 31 Aug 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3784
Abstract
This study evaluated the response of bat communities, from a taxonomic and functional perspective, to variation in the vegetation and landscape attributes produced by anthropogenic activities. We characterized the following: (1) the community of phyllostomid and mormoopid bats associated with the initial successional [...] Read more.
This study evaluated the response of bat communities, from a taxonomic and functional perspective, to variation in the vegetation and landscape attributes produced by anthropogenic activities. We characterized the following: (1) the community of phyllostomid and mormoopid bats associated with the initial successional stages of a tropical dry forest, (2) the response of these communities to the variation in the attributes of the vegetation and the landscape, and (3) how the seasonality modulates such response. This allowed us to identify potential mechanisms underlying the response of bat communities to human disturbance. Our results showed that the species negatively affected by the anthropoghenic disturbance are those with greater body mass, larger nose-leaves, or a lower wing aspect ratio and relative wing loading, which perform low-speed flights and have high maneuverability and, potentially, a high directionality in their emissions. We also detected a greater sensitivity of bats to changes in the landscape attributes regarding the riparian than the dry forest, and that the effect of anthropic transformation on bats was intensified during the dry season. Then, the continued loss of the original vegetation can lead to a loss of certain groups of bat species in neotropical landscapes, reducing the resilience of the system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Use Change Impacts on Tropical Vertebrates)
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29 pages, 6762 KiB  
Article
Dimensions of Phyllostomid Bat Diversity and Assemblage Composition in a Tropical Forest-Agricultural Landscape
by Farah Carrasco-Rueda and Bette A. Loiselle
Diversity 2020, 12(6), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12060238 - 11 Jun 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4252
Abstract
Tropical rainforests are suffering rapid habitat loss with large extensions of land transformed into agriculture. We wanted to know whether the type of agricultural activity in forest-agricultural landscapes affects how species composition as well as taxonomic and functional dimensions of diversity respond. We [...] Read more.
Tropical rainforests are suffering rapid habitat loss with large extensions of land transformed into agriculture. We wanted to know whether the type of agricultural activity in forest-agricultural landscapes affects how species composition as well as taxonomic and functional dimensions of diversity respond. We worked in the Amazon forests of southeast Peru and used bats as model organisms. We sampled mosaics characterized by forest adjacent to papaya plantations or cattle pastures. At each sampling site we established a transect in each of the three different vegetation types: forest interior, forest edge and agricultural land. We found that vegetation type was a better predictor of species composition than the type of agricultural land present. Vegetation structure characteristics explained differences in bat species composition between forest interior and edge. Agricultural land type chosen was not irrelevant as we found higher estimated species richness in papaya than in pasture sites. Agricultural land type present in a site and vegetation type affected functional diversity, with both agricultural land types showing a lower number of functionally distinct species than forests. We found papaya plantation sites showed species more evenly dispersed in trait space, suggesting they do better at conserving functional diversity when compared to cattle pasture sites. We demonstrate that sites that harbor agricultural activities can maintain a considerable proportion of the expected bat diversity. We note that this region still has large tracts of intact forest adjacent to agricultural lands, which may explain their ability to maintain relatively high levels bat diversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Use Change Impacts on Tropical Vertebrates)
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11 pages, 942 KiB  
Article
Wildlife Diversity and Relative Abundance Among a Variety of Adjacent Protected Areas in the Northern Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica
by Carolina Sáenz-Bolaños, Todd K. Fuller and Eduardo Carrillo J.
Diversity 2020, 12(4), 134; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12040134 - 1 Apr 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3130
Abstract
Protected areas are intended to achieve the long-term conservation of nature, but not all such areas are equal in their effectiveness because of their varying regulation of human activities. In Costa Rica, we assessed mammal and bird species presence and relative abundance in [...] Read more.
Protected areas are intended to achieve the long-term conservation of nature, but not all such areas are equal in their effectiveness because of their varying regulation of human activities. In Costa Rica, we assessed mammal and bird species presence and relative abundance in three protected areas in the northern Talamanca Mountains. In this humid tropical forest area, we placed camera traps in an adjacent national park, forest reserve, and indigenous territories, each with a different mix of human activities. In 10,120 trap nights, we obtained 6181 independent photos of mostly mammals (34 species other than humans) and birds (34 species). Species with greater abundance or only occurrence in the national park were mammals and birds commonly hunted outside of the park, large carnivores rarely documented in other areas, and poachers. Species found more often outside of the park were medium-sized mammals, some birds, and domestic mammals. We conclude that even in the same ecological area, varying regulations related to type of protected area have significant effects on some mammal and bird species abundances and occurrences, and thus need to be considered when assessing the overall effectiveness of protection as a conservation strategy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Use Change Impacts on Tropical Vertebrates)
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14 pages, 2833 KiB  
Article
Hummingbird–Plant Interactions Are More Specialized in Forest Compared to Coffee Plantations
by Beth M. L. Morrison and Chase D. Mendenhall
Diversity 2020, 12(4), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12040126 - 27 Mar 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4934
Abstract
Deforestation transforms habitats, displacing vertebrates and the other dimensions of biodiversity they support through their interactions. Few empirical studies have quantified the effect deforestation has on vertebrate–pollinator interaction networks. Here we quantify how hummingbird–plant networks change in relation to hummingbird diversity across a [...] Read more.
Deforestation transforms habitats, displacing vertebrates and the other dimensions of biodiversity they support through their interactions. Few empirical studies have quantified the effect deforestation has on vertebrate–pollinator interaction networks. Here we quantify how hummingbird–plant networks change in relation to hummingbird diversity across a deforestation gradient. We found that, overall, hummingbird–plant interactions were significantly more specialized in forests and specialized interactions decayed rapidly with the loss of tree cover at small spatial scales. Hummingbird species interaction specialization was also higher in forest habitats compared to coffee plantations, but we found no support for a morphological hummingbird trait that predicted interaction specialization or forest dependence. Finally, we developed spatially explicit models for quantifying impacts of land-use decisions on hummingbird species and the biodiversity they support. These tools can be used to identify and prioritize important habitats for conservation activities, like creating new protected areas and improving agricultural lands for biodiversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Use Change Impacts on Tropical Vertebrates)
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20 pages, 6738 KiB  
Article
Bat Ensembles Differ in Response to Use Zones in a Tropical Biosphere Reserve
by Natalie Yoh, Isham Azhar, Katheryn V. Fitzgerald, Rieka Yu, Tenaja Smith-Butler, Azniza Mahyudin and Tigga Kingston
Diversity 2020, 12(2), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12020060 - 4 Feb 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4965
Abstract
Biosphere reserves, designated under The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Man and Biosphere Programme, aim to sustainably integrate protected areas into the biological and economic landscape around them by buffering strictly protected habitats with zones of limited use. However, the [...] Read more.
Biosphere reserves, designated under The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Man and Biosphere Programme, aim to sustainably integrate protected areas into the biological and economic landscape around them by buffering strictly protected habitats with zones of limited use. However, the effectiveness of biosphere reserves and the contribution of the different zones of use to protection is poorly known. We assessed the diversity and activity of bats in the Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve (CRBR) in Sabah, Malaysia, using harp traps, mist nets and acoustic surveys in each zone—core, buffer, transition and in agricultural plots outside of the reserve. We captured 30 species, bringing the known bat fauna of CRBR to 50 species, half of Borneo’s bat species. Species composition and acoustic activity varied among zones and by foraging ensemble, with the core and buffer showing particular importance for conserving forest-dependent insectivorous bats. Frugivorous bats were found in all zones but were the most abundant and most species-rich ensemble within agricultural sites. Although sampling was limited, bat diversity and activity was low in the transition zone compared to other zones, indicating potential for management practices that increase food availability and enhance biodiversity value. We conclude that, collectively, the zones of the CRBR effectively protect diversity, but the value of the transition zone can be improved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Use Change Impacts on Tropical Vertebrates)
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