Determining adequate trapping effort and species richness using species accumulation curves for environmental impact assessments

2007 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 570-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
GRAHAM G. THOMPSON ◽  
SCOTT A. THOMPSON ◽  
PHILIP C. WITHERS ◽  
JASON FRASER
2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bayron R. Calle-Rendón ◽  
Mika Peck ◽  
Sara E. Bennett ◽  
Citlalli Morelos-Juarez ◽  
Felipe Alfonso

There is increasing evidence that large-bodied primates play important roles as seed dispersers and in the maintenance of tree diversity in forest ecosystems. In this study we compared forest regeneration at two sites with differing primate abundances in the Ecuadorian Chocoan rainforest. We predicted: (1) significant differences in primate abundance between the two sites; (2) higher understory tree species richness and density at the site with greater primate abundance; (3) the site with lower primate abundance characterized by tree species dispersed by non-primate biotic agents and/or abiotic factors. We compared two sites, Tesoro Escondido (TE) a campesino cooperative, and the El Pambilar (EP) wildlife refuge that both maintain populations of mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata), the brown-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps) and the capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinus). We characterized canopy structure by point-quadrant sampling, determined primate abundance and sampled seedlings/saplings in 1 m2 plots, classifying tree species based on three dispersal syndromes: adapted for primate dispersal, dispersed by other biological agents, and abiotic dispersal. We compared sites in terms of primate abundance (groups and individuals observed per day) and regeneration characteristics (overall density, species richness, and dispersal syndrome). We carried out within site comparisons and constructed understory tree species accumulation curves. Overall the forests were structurally similar - with significantly higher densities of A. f. fusciceps at TE. Encounter rates for the other two primate species were similar at both sites. Understory tree density and species richness was significantly higher in TE with no stabilization of tree species accumulation curves. The species accumulation curve for understory trees at EP stabilized. Higher densities and species richness of primate dispersed tree species were observed at TE, with non-primate biotically dispersed tree species the dominant dispersal syndrome at both sites. Our observations are consistent with those from other studies investigating the role of large-bodied frugivorous primates in forest regeneration, and point to a general pattern: future lowland tropical forest tree diversity depends on maintaining robust populations of large primate species in these systems. It is highly probable that the maintenance of high levels of tree diversity in Chocoan rainforests is dependent on the conservation of its largest resident primate, the critically endangered brown-headed spider monkey (A. f. fusciceps).


2007 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 69-73
Author(s):  
Sánchez Márquez ◽  
G.F. Bills ◽  
I. Zabalgogeazcoa

Morphological and molecular methods were used to identify the endophytic mycobiota of the grass Dactylis glomerata. Fungal endophytes belonging to 109 different species were isolated from asymptomatic plants sampled in different ecosystems in Spain. Species accumulation curves showed that most species commonly infecting this grass have been identified, but the number of singleton species occasionally infecting the plants is likely to increase with more sampling effort. A large endophytic assemblage consisting of fungi with diverse ecological roles, and potentially unknown species was found in a small number of plants. Keywords: endophytes, Dactylis glomerata, diversity, abundance


PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e0139600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Kelling ◽  
Alison Johnston ◽  
Wesley M. Hochachka ◽  
Marshall Iliff ◽  
Daniel Fink ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Santos-Filho ◽  
DJ. da Silva ◽  
TM. Sanaiotti

A community of small mammals was studied in seasonal semideciduous submontane forest in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. This study evaluated the use of edge and matrix pasture, by different small mammal species. Overall, 31 areas were studied, with a total sampling effort of 33,800 trap x nights. Only seven of the 25 species captured in the study sites were able to use the pasture matrix; we classified these species as generalists. Fourteen species were found to be intermediate in habits, being able to use forest edges. We found only four species habitat specialists, occurring only on transect lines in the interior of the fragment, at least 150 m from the edge. Transects located in the pasture matrix and 50 m from the edge had significantly lower species richness and abundance than transects located in the fragment edge or in the interior of the fragment. All transects located within the fragment had similar species richness and abundance, but transects located 50 m from the edge had slightly lower, but non-significant, species richness than transects located 100 m apart from edges. Rarefaction curves demonstrated that only medium-sized fragments (100 300 ha) reached an asymptote of species accumulation. The other areas require further sampling, or more sampling transect, before species accumulation curves stabilize, due to a continued increase in species number.


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