Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Small mammals in a mosaic of forest remnants and anthropogenic habitats—evaluating matrix quality in an Atlantic forest landscape

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
Landscape Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The matrix of altered habitats that surrounds remnants in human dominated landscapes has been considered homogeneous and inhospitable. Recent studies, however, have shown the crucial role of the matrix in maintaining diversity in fragmented landscapes, acting as a mosaic of units with varying permeability to different species. Inclusion of matrix quality parameters is especially urgent in managing fragmented landscapes in the tropics where agriculture frontiers are still expanding. Using standardized surveys in 23 sites in an Atlantic forest landscape, we evaluated matrix use by small mammals, the most diverse ecological group of mammals in the Neotropics, and tested the hypothesis that endemic species are the most affected by the conversion of original forest into anthropogenic habitats. By comparing species distribution among forest remnants and the predominant adjacent habitats (native vegetation in initial stages of regeneration, eucalyptus plantations, areas of agriculture and rural areas with buildings), we found a strong dissimilarity in small mammal assemblages between native vegetation (including initial stages) and anthropogenic habitats, with only two species being able to use all habitats. Endemic small mammals tended to occupy native vegetation, whereas invading species from other countries or open biomes tended to occupy areas of non-native vegetation. Our results highlight that future destruction of native vegetation will favor invading or generalist species which could dominate highly disturbed landscapes, and that some matrix habitats, such as regenerating native vegetation, should be managed to increase connectivity among populations of endemic species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aars J, Ims RA, (1999) The effects of habitat corridors on rates of transfer and interbreeding between vole demes. Ecology 80:1648–1655

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aberg J, Jansson G, Swenson JE, Angelstam P (1995) The effect of matrix on the occurence of Hazel Grouse (Bonasa bonasia) in isolated habitat fragments. Oecologia 103:265–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antongiovanni M, Metzger JP (2005) Influence of matrix habitats on the occurrence of insectivorous bird species in Amazonian forest fragments. Biol Conserv 122:441–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baum KA, Haynes KJ, Dillemuth FP, Cronin JT (2004) The matrix enhances the effectiveness of corridors and stepping stones. Ecology 85:2671–2676

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergallo HG, Magnusson WE (1999) Effects of climate and food availability on four rodent species in southeastern Brazil. J Mammal 80:472–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonvicino CR, Lindbergh SM, Maroja LS (2002) Small non-flying mammals from conserved and altered areas of Atlantic Forest and Cerrado: comments on their potential use for monitoring environment. Braz J Biol 62:764–774

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer SW, Rejmanek M (1999) Small rodents as significant dispersers of tree seeds in a Neotropical forest. J Veg Sci 10:165–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro EBV, Fernandez FAS (2004) Determinants of differential extinction vulnerabilities of small mammals in Atlantic forest fragments in Brazil. Biol Conserv 119:73–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa LP (2003) The historical bridge between the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest of Brazil: a study of molecular phylogeography with small mammals. J Biogeogr 30:71–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn RR (2004) Recovery of faunal communities during tropical forest regeneration. Conserv Biol 18:302–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmons LH, Feer F (1997) Neotropical rainforest mammals - a field guide. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Faria D, Laps RR, Baumgarten J, Cetra M (2006) Bat and bird assemblages from forests and shade cacao plantations in two contrasting landscapes in the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil. Biodivers Conserv 15:587–612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feliciano BR, Fernandez FAS, Freitas D, Figueiredo MSL (2002) Population dynamics of small rodents in a grassland between fragments of Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. Mammal Biol 67:304–314

    Google Scholar 

  • Fonseca GAB, Herrmann G, Leite YLR, Mittermeier RA, Rylands AB, Patton JL (1996) Lista anotada dos mamíferos do Brasil. Occas Pap Conserv Biol 4:1–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Gascon C, Lovejoy TE, Bierregaard RO, Malcolm JR, Stouffer PC, Vasconcelos HL, Laurance WF, Zimmerman B, Tocher M, Borges S (1999) Matrix habitat and species richness in tropical forest remnants. Biol Conserv 91:223–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomes NF (1991) Revisão sistemática do gênero Monodelphis (Didelphidae: Marsupialia). Master thesis. University of São Paulo: São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. 180 pp.

  • Gonzalez A, Lawton JH, Gilbert FS, Blackburn TM, Evans-Freke I (1998) Metapopulation dynamics, abundance, and distribution in a microecosystem. Science 281:2045–2047

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henle K, Davies KF, Kleyer M, Margules C, Settele J (2004) Predictors of species sensitivities to fragmentation. Biodivers Conserv 13:207–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hershkovitz P (1998) Report on some sigmodontine rodents collected in southeastern Brazil with descriptions of a new genus and six new species. Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 47:193–256

    Google Scholar 

  • Hokit DG, Stith BM, Branch LC (1999) Effects of landscape structure in Florida scrub: a population perspective. Ecol Appl 9:124–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horvath A, March IJ, Wolf JHD (2001) Rodent diversity and land use in Montebello, Chiapas, Mexico. Stud Neotrop Fauna Environ 36:169–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudgens BR, Haddad NM (2003) Predicting which species will benefit from corridors in fragmented landscapes from population growth models. Am Nat 161:808–820

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Janos DP, Sahley CT, Emmons LH (1995) Rodent dispersal of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Amazonian Peru. Ecology 76:1852–1858

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jules ES, Shahani P (2003) A broader ecological context to habitat fragmentation: Why matrix habitat is more important than we thought. J Veg Sci 14:459–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katz G, Williams RJ, Burt MS, Souza LTM, Pereira LE, Mills JN, Suzuki A, Ferreira IB, Souza RP, Alves VAF, Bravo JS, Yates TL, Meyer R, Shieh W, Ksiazek TG, Zaki SR, Khan AS, Peters CJ (2001) Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, 1993–1998. Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 1:181–190

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kovach Computing Service. 1999. MVSP 3.11b version.

  • Kronka FJNC (2003) Mapeamento e quantificação do reflorestamento no Estado de São Paulo. Florestar Estatístico 6:19–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacher TE, Alho CJR (2001) Terrestrial small mammal richness and habitat associations in an Amazon Forest-Cerrado contact zone. Biotropica 33:171–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Langlois JP, Fahrig L, Merriam G, Artsob H (2001) Landscape structure influences continental distribution of hantavirus in deer mice. Landscape Ecol 16:255–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance WF (1991) Ecological correlates of extinction proneness in Australian tropical rain forest mammals. Conserv Biol 5:79–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehtonen JT, Mustonen O, Ramiarinjanahary H, Niemelä J, Rita H (2001) Habitat use by endemic and introduced rodents along a gradient of forest disturbance in Madagascar. Biodivers Conserv 10:1185–1202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenmayer DB, Hobbs RJ (2004) Fauna conservation in Australian plantation forests—a review. Biol Conserv 119:151–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam AJ (1997) Rapid decline of small mammal diversity in Monsoon evergreen forest fragments in Thailand. In: Laurance WF, Bierregaard RO Jr (eds), Tropical forest remnants: ecology, management, and conservation of fragmented communities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA, pp 222–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm JR (1997) Biomass and diversity of small mammals in Amazonian forest fragments. In: Laurance WF, Bierregaard RO (eds), Tropical forest remnants: ecology, management, and conservation of fragmented communities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago Illinois USA, pp 207–221

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntyre S, Lavorel S (1994) Predicting richness of native, rare and exotic plants in response to habitat disturbance variables across a variegated landscape. Conserv Biol 8:521–531

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mech SG, Hallett JG (2001) Evaluating the effectiveness of corridors: a genetic approach. Conserv Biol 15:467–474

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medellin RA, Equihua M (1998) Mammal species richness and habitat use in rainforest and abandoned agricultural fields in Chiapas, Mexico. J Appl Ecol 35:13–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medellin RA, Equihua M, Amin M (2000) Bat diversity and abundance as indicators of disturbance in Neotropical rainforests. Conserv Biol 14:1666–1675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery DC (ed) (2001) Design and analysis of experiments. John Wiley, New York USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy HT, Lovett-Doust J (2004) Context and connectivity in plant metapopulations and landscape mosaics: does the matrix matter? Oikos 105:3–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira JA, Bonvicino CR (2002) A new species of sigmodontine rodent from the Atlantic forest of eastern Brazil. Acta Theriologica 47:307–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira-Filho AT, Fontes MAL (2000) Patterns of floristic differentiation among Atlantic Forests in Southeastern Brazil and the influence of climate. Biotropica 32:793–810

    Google Scholar 

  • Pardini R (2004) Effects of forest fragmentation on small mammals in an Atlantic Forest landscape. Biodivers Conserv 13:2567–2586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pardini R, Souza SM, Braga-Neto R, Metzger JP (2005) The role of forest structure, fragment size and corridors in maintaining small mammal abundance and diversity in an Atlantic forest landscape. Biol Conserv 124:253–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pardini R, Umetsu F (2006) Pequenos mamíferos não-voadores da Reserva Florestal do Morro Grande - distribuição das espécies e da diversidade em uma área de Mata Atlântica. Biota Neotropica 6: http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v6n2/pt/abstract?article+bn01006022006.

  • Percequillo AR (1998) Sistemática de Oryzomys Baird, 1858 do leste do Brasil (Muroidea, Sigmodontinae). Master thesis, University of São Paulo: São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. pp552

  • Petit LJ, Petit DR (2003) Evaluating the importance of human-modified lands for Neotropical bird conservation. Conserv Biol 17:687–694

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pires AS, Lira PK, Fernandez FAS, Schittini GM, Oliveira LC (2002) Frequency of movements of small mammals among Atlantic Coastal Forest fragments in Brazil. Biol Conserv 108:229–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pither J, Taylor PD (1998) An experimental assessment of landscape connectivity. Oikos 83:166–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Renjifo LM (2001) Effect of natural and anthropogenic landscape matrices on the abundance of subandean bird species. Ecol Appl 11:14–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricketts TH (2001) The matrix matters: effective isolation in fragmented landscapes. Am Nat 158:87–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stallings JR (1989) Small mammal inventories in an eastern Brazilian park. Bulletin Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences 34:153–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Stallings JR (1991) The importance of understorey on wildlife in a Brazilian eucalypt plantation. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 7:267–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Statsoft Inc. 2001. Statistica 6.0 for Windows

  • Taylor PDL, Fahrig L, Henein K, Merriam G (1993) Connectivity is a vital element of landscape structure. Oikos 86:571–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tewksbury JJ, Levey DJ, Haddad NM, Sargent S, Orrock JL, Weldon A, Danielson BJ, Brinkerhoff J, Damschen EI, Townsend P (2002) Corridors affect plants, animals, and their interactions in fragmented landscapes. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 99:12923–12926

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner MG, Gardner RH, Dale VH, O’Neill RV (1989) Predicting the spread of disturbance in heterogeneous landscapes. Oikos 55:121–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umetsu F, Naxara L, Pardini R (2006) Evaluating the efficiency of pitfall traps for sampling small mammals in the Neotropics. J Mammal 87:757–765

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urban DL, Shugart HH (1986) Avian demography in mosaic landscapes: modeling paradigm and preliminary. In: Verner ML, Morrison ML, Ralph CJ (eds), Wildlife 2000—modeling habitat relationships of terrestrial vertebrates. The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison Wisconsin USA, pp 273–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Utrera A, Duno G, Ellis BA, Salas RA, Manzione N, Fulhorst CF, Tesh RB, Mills JN (2000) Small mammals in agricultural areas of the western llanos of Venezuela: Community structure, habitat associations, and relative densities. J Mammal 81:536–548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandermeer J, Carvajal C (2001) Metapopulation dynamics and the quality of the matrix. Am Nat 158:211–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vieira EM, Monteiro-Filho ELA (2003) Vertical stratification of small mammals in the Atlantic rain forest of south-eastern Brazil. J Trop Ecol 19:501–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voss RS, Lunde DP, Jansa SA (2005) On the contents of Gracilinanus Gardner and Creighton, 1989, with the description of a previously unrecognized clade of small didelphid marsupials. Am Mus Novitates 3482:1–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijesinghe MR, Brooke MD (2005) Impact of habitat disturbance on the distribution of endemic species of small mammals and birds in a tropical rain forest in Sri Lanka. J Trop Ecol 21:661–668

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank two anonymous reviewers for the detailed revisions; A. Pardini for reviewing the English of the manuscript; J.P. Metzger and M.C. Ribeiro for the analysis of the landscape structure; A. Percequillo and R. Rossi for identifying small mammal species; M. Dixo, J.M.B. Ghellere, R.G. Pimentel, T.B. Breier, F.S. Cunha, H.M. Oyamaguchi and R. Iartelli for invaluable help during field work; and FAPESP – Fundação de Amparoà Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (99/05123–4, 02/10845) and WWF- Brazil (CSR 293–2003) for grants. This study is part of the project “Biodiversity conservation in fragmented landscapes at the Atlantic Plateau of São Paulo - BIOTA/Caucaia project”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, travessa 14, 101, São Paulo, CEP-05508-900, SP, Brazil

    Fabiana Umetsu

  2. Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, travessa 14, 101, São Paulo, CEP-05508-900, SP, Brazil

    Renata Pardini

Authors
  1. Fabiana Umetsu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Renata Pardini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renata Pardini.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Umetsu, F., Pardini, R. Small mammals in a mosaic of forest remnants and anthropogenic habitats—evaluating matrix quality in an Atlantic forest landscape. Landscape Ecol 22, 517–530 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9041-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9041-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation