Effects of deforestation on multitaxa community similarity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Habitat loss can lead to biotic homogenization (decrease in β diversity) or differentiation (increase in β diversity) of biological communities. However, it is unclear which of these ecological processes predominates in human-modified landscapes. We used data on vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants to quantify β diversity based on species occurrence and abundance among communities in 1367 landscapes with varying amounts of habitat (<30%, 30-60%, or >60% of forest cover) throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Decreases in habitat amount below 30% led to increased compositional similarity of vertebrate and invertebrate communities, which may indicate a process of biotic homogenization throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. No pattern was detected in plant communities. We found that habitat loss was associated with a deterministic increase in faunal community similarity, which is consistent with a selected subset of species being capable of thriving in human-modified landscapes. The lack of pattern found in plants was consistent with known variation between taxa in community responses to habitat amount. Brazilian legislation requiring the preservation of 20% of Atlantic Forest native vegetation may be insufficient to prevent the biotic homogenization of faunal communities. Our results highlight the importance of preserving large amounts of habitat, providing source areas for the recolonization of deforested landscapes, and avoiding large-scale impacts of homogenization of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

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Publication Details

Journal
Conservation Biology
Published
2024-11-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14419
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.69

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article

Effects of deforestation on multitaxa community similarity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Dary Moreira Gonçalves Rigueira, Nathália Vieira Hissa Safar, Érica Hasui, Renato Crouzeilles et al.
1 citations
Conservation Biology
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
0.69
article

Effects of deforestation on multitaxa community similarity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Dary Moreira Gonçalves Rigueira, Nathália Vieira Hissa Safar, Érica Hasui, Renato Crouzeilles, Elivane Salete Capellesso, Daniel Maurenza, Maxwell Souza Silveira, Carolina Franco Esteves, Camila dos Santos de Barros, Francisco Sanches Gomes, Andrea Larissa Boesing, Márcia C. M. Marques, Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues Oliveira‐Santos, Mauricio Almeida‐Gomes, Carlos Roberto Fonseca, Flávio Nunes Ramos, Tiago Jordão Porto, Carlos A. Peres, Marcelo Passamani, Kátia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros Ferraz, Candelaria Estavillo, Luiz Fernando Silva Magnago, Jayme Augusto Prevedello, Marcelo Tabarelli, Inara R. Leal, Marina Zanin, Juliano A. Bogoni, Marlla Alves Matos, José Carlos Morante‐Filho, Marcus Vinícius Vieira, Eduardo Mariano‐Neto, Jean Paul Metzger, Larissa Rocha‐Santos, Renata Pardini, Michaele S. Pessoa, Andréia Alves Rezende, Bruno K. C. Filgueiras, Emerson Monteiro Vieira, Luciana Carvalho dos Reis, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Gabriela Paise, Deborah Faria, Maurício Eduardo Graipel, Luciano Carramaschi de Alagão Querido, Eliana Cazetta, Marília Mascarenhas Lima, Euvaldo Marciano Santos Silva Júnior, Alex Mendes, Thomas Püttker, Marina Schmoeler
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Habitat loss can lead to biotic homogenization (decrease in β diversity) or differentiation (increase in β diversity) of biological communities. However, it is unclear which of these ecological processes predominates in human-modified landscapes. We used data on vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants to quantify β diversity based on species occurrence and abundance among communities in 1367 landscapes with varying amounts of habitat (<30%, 30-60%, or >60% of forest cover) throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Decreases in habitat amount below 30% led to increased compositional similarity of vertebrate and invertebrate communities, which may indicate a process of biotic homogenization throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. No pattern was detected in plant communities. We found that habitat loss was associated with a deterministic increase in faunal community similarity, which is consistent with a selected subset of species being capable of thriving in human-modified landscapes. The lack of pattern found in plants was consistent with known variation between taxa in community responses to habitat amount. Brazilian legislation requiring the preservation of 20% of Atlantic Forest native vegetation may be insufficient to prevent the biotic homogenization of faunal communities. Our results highlight the importance of preserving large amounts of habitat, providing source areas for the recolonization of deforested landscapes, and avoiding large-scale impacts of homogenization of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Conservation BiologyVol. 39(2)
University of East Anglia (GB), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (BR), Universidade Federal da Bahia (BR), Universidade Federal de Lavras (BR), Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (BR), Universidade Federal de Viçosa (BR), Universidade de Brasília (BR), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Universidade Federal de Sergipe (BR), Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (BR), Universidade Federal de Alfenas (BR), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (BR), Norwich Research Park (GB), IP Australia (AU), Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (BR), Southwest Bahia State University (BR), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR), Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (BR), Centro Nacional de Monitoramento e Alertas de Desastres Naturais (BR), Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia (BR), Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (DE), Forest Science and Research Institute (BR), Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (BR), Instituto de Ciências Farmacêuticas (BR), Secretaria do Meio Ambiente (BR), Universidade Regional do Cariri (BR), ACT Government (AU), Imperial College London (GB), Universidade Federal do Paraná (BR), Universidade de Pernambuco (BR), Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (BR), Universidade Federal de São Paulo (BR)
Sight Research UK, Natural Environment Research Council
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
0.69
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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