Assessing Vertebrate Abundance and the Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Tropical Forest Dynamics
Abstract
The Madre de Dios river basin in southeastern Peru is one of the largest and most
diverse forest ecosystems on the planet. Though conservation zones with strict protection
do exist in the basin, human population growth and development are having a considerable
effect on forest dynamics. One major threat is the hunting-induced reduction or local
extinction of large-bodied vertebrates. Vertebrate fauna contribute substantially
to the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem processes – most notably through
the dispersal of seeds by frugivores – and their loss may have disastrous consequences
both to forest community composition and to the human populations which rely on ecosystem
health and functioning. On the basis of 300km of standardized line-transect sampling,
I documented the current densities of vertebrate frugivores across three forest sites
under varying degrees of hunting pressure. I compared results across sites and interpreted
them in terms of current pressures as well as site-specific trends in seedfall and
tree recruitment. Increasing hunting pressure reduced large-bodied frugivores, corresponding
with distinct shifts in vertebrate community composition and seedfall patterns. In
response to these results, future efforts should promote strict protection of large-bodied
vertebrate frugivores, with continued expansive multi-taxa forest monitoring across
ontogenetic stages.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/5361Citation
Rosin, Cooper (2012). Assessing Vertebrate Abundance and the Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Tropical
Forest Dynamics. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/5361.Collections
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