Affiliation:
1. Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biodiversidade Tropical Universidade Federal do Amapá (UNIFAP) Macapá Brazil
2. Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Rio de Janeiro Brazil
3. Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG‐UAM), Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science Autonomous University of Madrid Madrid Spain
4. Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC‐UAM) Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid Spain
5. Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria Madrid Spain
Abstract
AbstractAimWe aim to find the main drivers of the taxonomic and functional richness and functional dispersion of vertebrates (amphibians, birds, primates, marsupials, rodents, bats and medium‐ and large‐sized mammals) across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We also aim to identify hotspots of vertebrate diversity and quantify the extent to which they are legally protected.LocationBrazilian Atlantic Forest.MethodsWe gathered data on the occurrence of vertebrates based on the most recent published databases for Atlantic Forest vertebrates and measured taxonomic richness, functional richness and functional dispersion. We then related variation in diversity, within each group and overall, to environmental and landscape variables. Also, we modelled the diversity of each group for the entire extent of the Atlantic Forest, superimposing the diversity maps to delimit the vertebrate biodiversity hotspots and verified how much of these hotspots are covered by protected areas.ResultsTaxonomic/functional diversity were driven by environmental (e.g., average annual precipitation and precipitation of the driest quarter) and landscape variables (e.g., amount of forest and agricultural areas) for most taxonomic groups. The main hotspots of taxonomic richness are located in the central region of the Atlantic Forest, whereas those for functional diversity occur in the southern region of the biome. Only a little over 10% of the Atlantic Forest is covered by protected areas, and, as such, the vast majority of the medium and high diversity areas fall outside of protected areas, being therefore not legally protected.Main ConclusionsWe found evidence for previously described patterns, including the predicted positive effects of the amount of forest in the landscape and precipitation and the negative effects of agricultural areas on vertebrate diversity. Finally, our results show that most diversity hotspots are outside of legally protected areas, indicating that more conservation efforts should be made towards safeguarding these important areas.
Funder
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Ministerio de Universidades