Landscape-level human disturbance results in loss and contraction of mammalian populations in tropical forests

Tropical forests hold most of Earth's biodiversity and a higher concentration of threatened mammals than other biomes. As a result, some mammal species persist almost exclusively in protected areas, often within extensively transformed and heavily populated landscapes. Other species depend on remaining remote forested areas with sparse human populations. However, it remains unclear how mammalian communities in tropical forests respond to anthropogenic pressures in the broader landscape in which they are embedded. As governments commit to increasing the extent of global protected areas to prevent further biodiversity loss, identifying the landscape-level conditions supporting wildlife has become essential. Here, we assessed the relationship between mammal communities and anthropogenic threats in the broader landscape. We simultaneously modeled species richness and community occupancy as complementary metrics of community structure, using a state-of-the-art community model parameterized with a standardized pan-tropical data set of 239 mammal species from 37 forests across 3 continents. Forest loss and fragmentation within a 50-km buffer were associated with reduced occupancy in monitored communities, while species richness was unaffected by them. In contrast, landscape-scale human density was associated with reduced mammal richness but not occupancy, suggesting that sensitive species have been extirpated, while remaining taxa are relatively unaffected. Taken together, these results provide evidence of extinction filtering within tropical forests triggered by anthropogenic pressure occurring in the broader landscape. Therefore, existing and new reserves may not achieve the desired biodiversity outcomes without concurrent investment in addressing landscape-scale threats.

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Publication Details

Journal
PLoS Biology
Published
2025-02-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002976
Citations
13
Primary Topic
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
22.31

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article

Landscape-level human disturbance results in loss and contraction of mammalian populations in tropical forests

Francesco Bisi, Marcela Guimarães Moreira Lima, Jedediah F. Brodie, Santiago Espinosa et al.
13 citations
PLoS Biology
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
22.31
article

Landscape-level human disturbance results in loss and contraction of mammalian populations in tropical forests

Francesco Bisi, Marcela Guimarães Moreira Lima, Jedediah F. Brodie, Santiago Espinosa, Ronaldo Gonçalves Morato, Jorge Ahumada, Robert Bitariho, Jayasilan Mohd‐Azlan, M. Firoz Ahmed, Rajan Amin, Ramie H. Begum, Ahimsa Campos‐Arceiz, Simone Tenan, Abishek Harihar, Badru Mugerwa, Lydia Beaudrot, Emanuel H. Martin, Francesco Rovero, Matthew Scott Luskin, Elildo Alves Ribeiro de Carvalho, Ilaria Greco, Patricia C. Wright, Marcelo Magioli, Alys Granados, Giacomo Cremonesi, Chia Hsieh, Adriano Martinoli, Steig Johnson, Daniel Gorczynski, Dipankar Lahkar, Lain E. Pardo, Cédric Vermeulen, Julia Salvador, Virgínia Londe de Camargos, Daniel Cornélis, Caspian Johnson, Chris S. Sutherland, Patrick A. Jansen, Douglas Sheil, Davy Fonteyn, Adeline Fayolle, Fernanda Santos, Harry Hilser, Megan Baker-Watton, Iariaella Elimanantsoa
article en
13 citations

Abstract

Tropical forests hold most of Earth's biodiversity and a higher concentration of threatened mammals than other biomes. As a result, some mammal species persist almost exclusively in protected areas, often within extensively transformed and heavily populated landscapes. Other species depend on remaining remote forested areas with sparse human populations. However, it remains unclear how mammalian communities in tropical forests respond to anthropogenic pressures in the broader landscape in which they are embedded. As governments commit to increasing the extent of global protected areas to prevent further biodiversity loss, identifying the landscape-level conditions supporting wildlife has become essential. Here, we assessed the relationship between mammal communities and anthropogenic threats in the broader landscape. We simultaneously modeled species richness and community occupancy as complementary metrics of community structure, using a state-of-the-art community model parameterized with a standardized pan-tropical data set of 239 mammal species from 37 forests across 3 continents. Forest loss and fragmentation within a 50-km buffer were associated with reduced occupancy in monitored communities, while species richness was unaffected by them. In contrast, landscape-scale human density was associated with reduced mammal richness but not occupancy, suggesting that sensitive species have been extirpated, while remaining taxa are relatively unaffected. Taken together, these results provide evidence of extinction filtering within tropical forests triggered by anthropogenic pressure occurring in the broader landscape. Therefore, existing and new reserves may not achieve the desired biodiversity outcomes without concurrent investment in addressing landscape-scale threats.

PLoS BiologyVol. 23(2)
University of Insubria (IT), The Nature Conservancy (US), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (PA), University of Wyoming (US), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Conservation International (US), Zoological Society of London (GB), Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (BR), Panthera Corporation (US), Mbarara University of Science and Technology (UG), University of British Columbia (CA), University of Liège (BE), The University of Queensland (AU), University of St Andrews (GB), University of Calgary (CA), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí (MX), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Université de Montpellier (FR), University of Exeter (GB), Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (BE), Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (CN), College of African Wildlife Management (TZ), Universidad Nacional de Colombia (CO), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (EC), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (MY), Museo delle Scienze (IT), Michigan United (US), Instituto Pró-Carnívoros (BR), Forests and Societies (FR), Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (BR), Centre National de la Recherche Appliquée au Developpement Rural (MG), Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (DE), National Research Council (IT), Bristol Zoological Society, University of Florence (IT), Technische Universität Berlin (DE), Assam University (IN), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO), Stony Brook University (US), Universidade Federal do Pará (BR), University of Montana (US), Nature Conservation Foundation (IN), Michigan State University (US), Wageningen University & Research (NL), Center for International Forestry Research (ID), Nelson Mandela University (ZA)
National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Panthera, Wildlife Conservation Society, National Geographic Society, Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (COLCIENCIAS), United Nations Development Programme, European Commission, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Kasetsart University, Norges Forskningsråd, Agence Nationale Des Parcs Nationaux, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Agence Française de Développement, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Universitas Sam Ratulangi, Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fonds pour la Formation à la Recherche dans l’Industrie et dans l’Agriculture, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
22.31
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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