The recent availability of open-access repositories of functional traits has revolutionized trait-based approaches in ecology and evolution. Nevertheless, the underrepresentation of tropical regions and lineages remains a pervasive bias in plant functional trait databases, which constrains large-scale assessments of plant ecology, evolution, and biogeography. Here, we present MelastomaTRAITs 1.0, a comprehensive and updatable database of functional traits for the pantropical Melastomataceae, the ninth-largest angiosperm family with 177 genera and more than 5800 species. Melastomataceae encompass species with a wide diversity of growth forms (herbs, shrubs, trees, epiphytes, and woody climbers), habitats (including tropical forests, savannas, grasslands, and wetlands from sea level to montane areas above the treeline), ecological strategies (from pioneer, edge-adapted and invasive species to shade-tolerant understory species), geographic distribution (from microendemic to continental-wide distribution), reproductive, pollination, and seed dispersal systems. MelastomaTRAITs builds on 581 references, such as taxonomic monographs, ecological research, and unpublished data, and includes four whole-plant traits, six leaf traits, 11 flower traits, 18 fruit traits, and 27 seed traits for 2520 species distributed in 144 genera across all 21 tribes. Most data come from the Neotropics where the family is most species-rich. Miconieae (the largest tribe) contains the highest number of trait records (49.6%) and species (41.1%) records. The trait types with the most information in the database were whole-plant traits, flowers, and leaf traits. With the breadth of functional traits recorded, our database helps to fill a gap in information for tropical plants and will significantly improve our capacity for large-scale trait-based syntheses across levels of organization, plant-animal interactions, regeneration ecology, and thereby support conservation and restoration programs. There are no copyright restrictions on the dataset; please cite this data paper when reusing the data.
Although efforts to protect high levels of biodiversity and carbon storage can greatly increase the effectiveness of species loss and climate change mitigation, there is evidence indicating a trade-off scenario for their conservation at regional scale. Decisions making in trade-off scenarios can be supported by including information on the ecosystem stability of tropical forests (i.e., the ability of the ecosystem to maintain its function over time). Forest stability may affect biodiversity integrity and the residence time of carbon stored in tree biomass. Here, we assess the stability of old-growth forests' productivity by analyzing a 19-year time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We also used geoprocessing tools to analyze the overlap among forest-specialist vertebrate species richness, carbon density, and stability of old-growth forest throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We used model selection to find environmental predictors of the stability of primary productivity and build a predictive map of potential stability. Then, we overlapped maps of potential stability, species richness of forest-specialist vertebrates, and carbon density to identify hotspot areas of biodiversity and carbon density occurring at highest and lowest potential stability. We found that forest stability increases from north to south along the Atlantic Forest. High biodiversity occurs mainly at low stability while high carbon stock at high stability. Spatial overlap of the hotspots, where conservation co-benefits high biodiversity and carbon stock, occurs mostly at high stability in a large area along part of the coast and in smaller inland areas of the southern region. Most of the hotspots with low stability for biodiversity, carbon stock and combination of both are found in unprotected areas. Hence, the strategic mitigation of species loss and carbon emissions lies in three approaches: prioritizing forest protection in unprotected hotspots; implementing forest management practices in protected hotspots with low stability; and enforcing a comprehensive regime of protection and management in hotspots that exhibit low stability. Focused on forest stability, these approaches involve ecosystem-based planning offering Brazil's government effective strategies to fulfill its commitments in biodiversity conservation and carbon emission reduction.
Ecosystem , Forests , Animals , Biodiversity , Biomass , Carbon
Scientists have long been trying to understand why the Neotropical region holds the highest diversity of birds on Earth. Recently, there has been increased interest in morphological variation between and within species, and in how climate, topography, and anthropogenic pressures may explain and affect phenotypic variation. Because morphological data are not always available for many species at the local or regional scale, we are limited in our understanding of intra- and interspecies spatial morphological variation. Here, we present the ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS, a data set that includes measurements of up to 44 morphological traits in 67,197 bird records from 2,790 populations distributed throughout the Atlantic forests of South America. This data set comprises information, compiled over two centuries (1820-2018), for 711 bird species, which represent 80% of all known bird diversity in the Atlantic Forest. Among the most commonly reported traits are sex (n = 65,717), age (n = 63,852), body mass (n = 58,768), flight molt presence (n = 44,941), molt presence (n = 44,847), body molt presence (n = 44,606), tail length (n = 43,005), reproductive stage (n = 42,588), bill length (n = 37,409), body length (n = 28,394), right wing length (n = 21,950), tarsus length (n = 20,342), and wing length (n = 18,071). The most frequently recorded species are Chiroxiphia caudata (n = 1,837), Turdus albicollis (n = 1,658), Trichothraupis melanops (n = 1,468), Turdus leucomelas (n = 1,436), and Basileuterus culicivorus (n = 1,384). The species recorded in the greatest number of sampling localities are Basileuterus culicivorus (n = 243), Trichothraupis melanops (n = 242), Chiroxiphia caudata (n = 210), Platyrinchus mystaceus (n = 208), and Turdus rufiventris (n = 191). ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS (ABT) is the most comprehensive data set on measurements of bird morphological traits found in a biodiversity hotspot; it provides data for basic and applied research at multiple scales, from individual to community, and from the local to the macroecological perspectives. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications or teaching and educational activities.
Riparian ecosystems are suffering anthropogenic threats that reduce biodiversity and undermine ecosystem services. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the way species composition of assemblages is related to ecosystem function, especially in a landscape fragmentation context.Here, we assess the impact of habitat loss and disturbance on Functional Diversity (FD) components Functional Redundancy (FRed), Functional Evenness (FEve), and Functional Richness (FRic) of riparian forest bird assemblages to evaluate (a) how FD components respond to riparian forest width reduction and vegetation disturbance; (b) the existence of thresholds within these relationships; (c) which of the main birds diet guild (frugivores, insectivores, and omnivores) respond to such thresholds. We predict that FD components will be affected negatively and nonlinearly by riparian changes. However, guilds could have different responses due to differences of species sensitivity to fragmentation and disturbance. We expect to find thresholds in FD responses, because fragmentation and disturbance drive loss of specific FD components.Our results show that FRed and FEve were linearly affected by width and disturbance of riparian habitats, respectively. FRed was significantly lower in riparian forests assemblages below 400 m wide, and FEve was significantly higher above 60% disturbance. These responses of FD were also followed to the decline in insectivores and frugivores richness in riparian forests most affected by these changes.Consequently, our study suggests communities do not tolerate reduction in riparian forest width or disturbance intensification without negative impact on FD, and this becomes more critical for riparian area <400-m wide or with more than 60% disturbance. This minimum riparian width required to maintain FRed is greater than the minimum width required for riparian forests by Brazilian law. Thus, it is important to consider mechanisms to expand riparian habitats and reduce the disturbance intensity in riparian forests so that riparian bird community FD may be effectively conserved.
South America holds 30% of the world's avifauna, with the Atlantic Forest representing one of the richest regions of the Neotropics. Here we have compiled a data set on Brazilian Atlantic Forest bird occurrence (150,423) and abundance samples (N = 832 bird species; 33,119 bird individuals) using multiple methods, including qualitative surveys, mist nets, point counts, and line transects). We used four main sources of data: museum collections, on-line databases, literature sources, and unpublished reports. The data set comprises 4,122 localities and data from 1815 to 2017. Most studies were conducted in the Florestas de Interior (1,510 localities) and Serra do Mar (1,280 localities) biogeographic sub-regions. Considering the three main quantitative methods (mist net, point count, and line transect), we compiled abundance data for 745 species in 576 communities. In the data set, the most frequent species were Basileuterus culicivorus, Cyclaris gujanensis, and Conophaga lineata. There were 71 singletons, such as Lipaugus conditus and Calyptura cristata. We suggest that this small number of records reinforces the critical situation of these taxa in the Atlantic Forest. The information provided in this data set can be used for macroecological studies and to foster conservation strategies in this biodiversity hotspot. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Data Paper if data are used in publications and teaching events.
Abstract Habitat loss and fragmentation are processes that may affect communities by changing species interactions. These changes occur because the strength of linkages between species is not exclusively dependent on predator and prey traits. Species interaction changes also depend on the spatial context in which they take place. We used structural equation modelling to evaluate effects of these processes at patch-scale on top-down and bottom-up controls in food webs in Atlantic Forest. The model was composed of multiple species, and trophic guilds responded differently to fragment edge and isolation. Changes in bottom-up and top-down controls were mainly related to intermediate predator interactions. Efforts to restore connectivity among fragments should help recover the equilibrium of the trophic interactions by benefiting intermediate predators.
Resumo A perda e fragmentação de habitats podem afetar as comunidades através das mudanças nas interações entre espécies. Isso ocorre porque a força das ligações entre espécies não depende exclusivamente das características das espécies envolvidas, mas mudam dependendo do contexto espacial em que elas ocorrem. Usamos modelagem de equações estruturais para avaliar efeitos destes processos sobre o controle top-down e bottom-up nas teias alimentares em Mata Atlântica, na escala das machas de habitats. O modelo foi composto com várias espécies, as guildas tróficas responderam de forma diferente ao efeito do isolamento e da borda dos fragmentos. Mudanças nos controles bottom-up e top-down foram principalmente relacionadas com as interações envolvendo os predadores intermediários. Esforços para restaurar a conectividade entre os fragmentos devem ajudar na recuperação do equilíbrio das relações tróficas, beneficiando predadores intermediários.
Forest fragmentation and habitat loss are among the major current extinction causes. Remaining fragments are mostly small, isolated and showing poor quality. Being primarily arboreal, Neotropical primates are generally sensitive to fragmentation effects. Furthermore, primates are involved in complex ecological process. Thus, landscape changes that negatively interfere with primate population dynamic affect the structure, composition, and ultimately the viability of the whole community. We evaluated if fragment size, isolation and visibility and matrix permeability are important for explaining the occurrence of three Neotropical primate species. Employing playback, we verified the presence of Callicebus nigrifrons, Callithrix aurita and Sapajus nigritus at 45 forest fragments around the municipality of Alfenas, Brazil. We classified the landscape and evaluated the metrics through predictive models of occurrence. We selected the best models through Akaike Selection Criterion. Aiming at validating our results, we applied the plausible models to another region (20 fragments at the neighboring municipality of Poço Fundo, Brazil). Twelve models were plausible, and three were validated, two for Sapajus nigritus (Area and Area+Visibility) and one for Callicebus nigrifrons (Area+Matrix). Our results reinforce the contribution of fragment size to maintain biodiversity within highly degraded habitats. At the same time, they stress the importance of including novel, biologically relevant metrics in landscape studies, such as visibility and matrix permeability, which can provide invaluable help for similar studies in the future and on conservation practices in the long run.
Biodiversity , Forests , Models, Biological , Primates/physiology , Animals
A fragmentação de habitats pode afetar negativamente a relação mutualística entre plantas e animais, se estes tornarem-se localmente extintos nos fragmentos. No decorrer do processo de fragmentação há evidências de substituição de espécies especialistas por generalistas, adotando também sua função no ecossistema. Nós estudamos a frugivoria de Copaifera langsdorfii por aves para avaliar o efeito do tamanho do fragmento no potencial de dispersão das suas sementes. Durante o ano de 2008 foram selecionadas vinte plantas focais distribuídas em cinco remanescentes de Mata Atlântica (amplitude 29,2 a 104,8 ha) para descrever o comportamento de forrageamento de aves consumidoras e avaliar o potencial de dispersão de sementes de cada espécie através do método de observação focal. O potencial de dispersão variou entre as espécies, juntamente com o padrão de distribuição e abundância nos diferentes fragmentos. O tamanho dos fragmentos afetou positivamente o número de interações de espécies com bom potencial de dispersão (R2 = 0,85; p = 0,05). A riqueza de espécies com má qualidade de dispersão foi negativamente afetada pelo tamanho do fragmento, mas com significância marginal (R2 = 0,77; p= 0,08). Portanto a preservação de fragmentos de maior tamanho garante mais eventos de interação entre a C. langsdorfii e seus bons dispersores, e consequentemente favorece seu sucesso reprodutivo.
Effect of fragment size on Copaifera langsdorffii seed dispersal. Habitat fragmentation may cause functional disruption in seed dispersal, if the disperser species become locally extinct in the fragments. However during the fragmentation process, there is empirical evidence of replacement of specialist by generalist species, and these generalist species could also replace the functional activity of the specialists in the ecosystem. We studied bird frugivory on C. langsdorffii in order to evaluate the patch size effect on the potential of seed dispersal of this plant. During 2008 we chose 20 focal trees distributed in five Atlantic forest remnants (range 29.2 to 104.8 ha), looking for which bird species consumed the fruits, describing their foraging behavior and consequently evaluating the potential for seed dispersal. The results suggest that there was lower similarity of bird richness among the patches. The ability to disperse seeds also varied among birds and their patterns of distribution and abundance were related with patch size. The number of good disperser species and their interactions were positively related with patch size (R2 = 0.85; p = 0.05); in contrast, the poor dispersers had the opposite tendency (R2 = 0.77; p=0.08). Therefore the preservation of larger patch size increases the interaction events between C. langsdorffii and their good dispersers, and consequently improving their fitness.
