Creation of forest edges has a global impact on forest vertebrates

Pfeifer, M., Lefebvre, V., Peres, C.A., Banks-Leite, C., Wearn, O.R., Marsh, C.J., Butchart, S.H.M., Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., Barlow, J., Cerezo, A., and others. (2017) Creation of forest edges has a global impact on forest vertebrates. Nature, 551 . pp. 187-191. ISSN 0028-0836. (doi:10.1038/nature24457) (KAR id:64457)

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24457

Abstract

Forest edges influence more than half of the world’s forests and contribute to worldwide declines in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, predicting these declines is challenging in heterogeneous fragmented landscapes. Here we assembled a global dataset on species responses to fragmentation and developed a statistical approach for quantifying edge impacts in heterogeneous landscapes to quantify edge-determined changes in abundance of 1,673 vertebrate species. We show that the abundances of 85% of species are affected, either positively or negatively, by forest edges. Species that live in the centre of the forest (forest core), that were more likely to be listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), reached peak abundances only at sites farther than 200–400?m from sharp high-contrast forest edges. Smaller-bodied amphibians, larger reptiles and medium-sized non-volant mammals experienced a larger reduction in suitable habitat than other forest-core species. Our results highlight the pervasive ability of forest edges to restructure ecological communities on a global scale.

Item Type:	Article
DOI/Identification number:	10.1038/nature24457
Uncontrolled keywords:	Biodiversity; Conservation biology; Ecological modelling; Forest ecology
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > QH Natural history > QH541 Ecology Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology)
Divisions:	Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation > DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
Depositing User:	Matthew Struebig
Date Deposited:	16 Nov 2017 09:33 UTC
Last Modified:	05 Nov 2024 11:01 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/64457 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Struebig, M..

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2058-8502
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