Shifts in rainforest mammal communities from fragments to edges to interior forest

Abstract

Extensive deforestation throughout the tropics has left most persisting forest in isolated patches surrounded by agricultural lands inhospitable to many forest species. Small forest fragments support a small fraction of forest dwelling species, but even large forest areas can suffer great biodiversity losses along habitat edges. We quantify this loss through camera trap surveys conducted in and around Chiew Larn Reservoir, Thailand. We placed cameras on islands in the reservoir and in the mainland forest surrounding the reservoir, along transects from the reservoir edge into the interior forest. We measure what fraction of biodiversity is lost – and which species survive – in forest fragments and edges, and then summarize any particular characteristics shared by the survivors. As deforestation rates continue to rise in the tropics, our findings will help us to predict how biotic communities will respond to ongoing fragmentation.