Response of the herbivore mammal community to the ...

Response of the herbivore mammal community to the loss of native vegetation in the Brazilian Cerrado Vera Pfannerstill, Pierre-Cyril Renaud and Olivier Pays, UMR 6554 CNRS - LETG-Angers, University of Angers, France, Cyntia Cavalcante Santos and Fabio de Oliveira Roque, Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Universida de Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Habitat loss and land use change are the main threats to biodiversity (Pimm et al. 1995). This is particularly the case in Brazil where agricultural colonization is ongoing (Rada 2013). Recent studies have shown that fragmentation can influence the herbivore community (Haddad et al. 2015, Pardini et al. 2010). We investigate at landscape level the relationship between the loss of native vegetation and the wild herbivorous mammal community in the Cerrado. We used camera traps randomly placed in 5 hexagons of 5000 ha selected to have a gradient of native vegetation cover. The aims of this study are (1) to investigate whether the composition of the herbivore community changes along a gradient of native vegetation loss and (2) to explore which functional traits influence the response of herbivorous species. Our results show differences in the community composition along the gradient of native vegetation loss. Body mass and diet seem to be linked to the response of herbivore mammals to the loss of native vegetation. Small species and fruit specialists seem to become rare in landscapes with a low level of native vegetation, while large-bodied species and diet generalists seem not to be affected.

Background

Land use change in the Cerrado

Results 12

Pasture

Number of species

Number of species

10 10 8

9 7

7 6

6 4 2 0 10,7

Agriculture

28,8

34,1

63,6

81,3

Number of cameras

Native vegetation cover (%)

Species accumulation curve

Species richness per landscape

Non-metric multidimensional scaling of the species per landscape based on camera points

In the five observed landscapes, we found a total of 14 herbivore species. The maximum number of species seen in one landscape was 10. There is a core of common species which can be found in all landscapes, but according to the level of native vegetation, a change in the community composition can be observed.

• Does the species’ composition of the herbivore community change along a gradient of native vegetation cover? • Which functional traits influence the response of herbivore mammals to the loss of native vegetation?

Mazama gouazoubira Grey brocket deer

This study is part of the long-term ecological research project LTER-PELD Planalto da Bodquena in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. On a gradient of native vegetation loss, five landscapes have been sampled with 15 cameras in a minimum distance of 888 m for 30 consecutive days.


Methods Up to 225kg, Generalist, feeds on leaves, shoots, seeds and fruits

90

81,3

80 63,6

70 60 50 40

28,8

30 20

34,1

10,7

10 0 1

2

3

4

5

Landscape

20kg, generalist, feeds on leaves, shoots, stems and fruits

Pecari tajacu Collared Peccari

We selected four common species that differ in their functional traits, ranging in body size from 3 to 200kg and in diet from generalists to fruit specialists.

Pimm, S. L., G. J. Russel, J. L. Gittleman, T. M. Brooks (1995). The future of biodiversity. Science 269(5222), 347-350. Rada, N. Assessing Brazil’s Cerrado agricultural miracle. Food Policy, n. 38, p.146-155, 2013. Haddad, N. M., L. A. Brudvig, J. Clobert, K. F. Davies, A. Gonzalez, R. D. Holt, T. E. Lovejoy, J. O. Sexton, M. P. Austin, C. D. Collins, W. M. Cook, E. I. Damschen, R. M. Ewers, B. L. Foster, C. N. Jenkins, A. J. King, W. F. Laurance, D. J. Levey, C. R. Margules, B. A. Melbourne, A. O. Nicholls, J. L. Orrock, D. X. Song, J. R. Townshed (2015). Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth’s ecoystems. Science 1(2), 1-9. Pardini, R., Bueno, A., Gardner, T., Prado, P., Metzger, J. P. (2010): Beyond the fragmentation threshold hypothesis: Regime shifts in biodiversity across fragmented landscapes. PlosOne 5(10).

1 0,9 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0

**

0

20

40

60

80

100

Pecari tajacu Collared Peccari 1 0,9 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0


1

1 0,9 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0

0,9

**

0,8 0,7 0,6

n. s.

0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 0

20

40

60

80

100

0

20

40

60

80

Tapirus terrestris Tapir

100

n. s.

0

20

40

60

80

100

Main findings

3kg, generalist, feeds on leaves, shoots, seeds and fruits

SOURCES

Dasyprocta azarae Azara‘s Agouti

The predicted probability of occurrence increases for the frugivorous and smaller species with the amount of native vegetation.

Dasyprocta azarae Azara’s agouti

A larger body size enables the species to cross longer distances between patches (Gehring and Swihart, 2003). Diet should influence the response of the species to native vegetation loss (Vetter et al., 2010).

The small agouti (Dasyprocta azarae) (p = 0.007) and the Collared Peccari (Pecari tajacu) (p = 0.002), who is a fruit specialist, show a significant response to the loss of native vegetation (binomial GLM with logit-link). The Grey brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) (p = 0.55) and the Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) (p = 0.63) are larger-bodied and more generalist in their food choice. They occur also in landscapes with a low level of native vegetation and show no significant response to the amount of native vegetation (binomial GLM with logit-link).


20kg, specialist, feeds only on seeds and ffruits

Functional traits



Probability of occurrence



Number of cameras

Research questions The ecosystem “Cerrado” consists of a variety of habitats, such as deciduous gallery forests, palm forests, woodland savannah, and grassland (Cerrado sensu strictu) (Da Silva and Bates, 2002).

Pecari tajacu Collared Peccari

Dasyprocta azarae Azara‘s agouti

Bodoquena plateau

Natural biomes in Brazil and location of the study area. Modified from Paglia et al. 2012.

Da Silva, J. M. C. and J. M. Bates (2002). "Biogeographic patterns and conservation in the South American Cerrado: A tropical Savanna hotspot," Bioscience,52 (3): 225-233. Fleury, M., Silla, F., Rodrigues, R., do Couto, H., Galetti, M. (2014). Seedling fate across different habitats: The effects of herbivory and soil fertility. Basic and applied ecology 16(2015). Gehring, T. M. and R. K. Swihart (2003). "Body size, niche breadth, and ecologically scaled responses to habitat fragmentation: mammalian predators in an agricultural landscape," Biological Conservation,109 (2): 283-295. Vetter, D., M. M. Hansbauer, Z. Vegvari and I. Storch (2011). "Predictors of forest fragmentation sensitivity in Neotropical vertebrates: a quantitative review," Ecography,34 (1): 1-8.

• The community composition changes along the gradient of native vegetation loss. • Body mass and diet of mammals seem to be linked to the response of species to native vegetation loss: • frugivorous species are more sensitive, generalists less • smaller species are more affected than large

Paglia, A.P., Fonseca, G.A.B. da, Rylands, A. B., et al. (2012). Lista Anotada dos Mamíferos do Brasil / Annotated Checklist of Brazilian Mammals. 2ª Edição / 2nd Edition. Occasional Papers in Conservation Biology, No. 6.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Isabel Melo Vasquez, scholarship holder, process 141667/2016-8, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico Tecnológico - Brasil- CNPq, PELD Planalto da Bodoquena, PPGEC-UFMS

FUNDERS: Université d’Angers, Région Pays de la Loire (CASEST), CAPE/COFECUB (project Sv875-17)

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