Less berries and more pods: losers and winners of chronic disturbance in a tropical dry forest

Abstract

Abstract Although chronic disturbance is widely recognized as a main driver in the loss of diversity of tropical forests, their consequences in other attributes of the diversity such as functional dimensions still need to be clarified, especially in those traits associated with the dispersal process of plants. Here, we evaluated the effects of chronic disturbance on the community functional traits of a seasonally dry tropical forest, and their potential effects on the frugivores community. We characterized eight traits related to seed dispersal and calculated the community weight mean and functional diversity indices for trees and the whole woody community. We used generalized linear models to evaluate the effects of the disturbance on the community weight mean, functional diversity, and the abundance and diversity of fruits as resources for wildlife. Our results revealed that, the dominance of plants with costly fruiting species was reduced with disturbance. The functional richness and divergence were reduced with the disturbance, mainly in the qualitative traits. Finally, the availability of resources was slightly different between groups of dispersers, observing a general pattern of reduction in the availability and richness of fruits with the disturbance. Our results suggest that the changes in vegetation richness and abundance are not random but the result of filtering on traits related to dispersal costs and their subsequent ability to withstand environmental stress. The observed changes in vegetation have a direct effect on the availability of resources for frugivorous species, which in the medium term can generate a cascading effect on the ecosystem.