Identifying the habitat filters to medium and large mammal recolonization in Atlantic Forest restoration

Background/Question/Methods

Many restoration and management strategies are being implemented to restore degraded Atlantic Forest habitats in Brazil. Those restoration strategies, however, can result in different vegetation complexity or different food and shelter availability, which are important habitat filters to guarantee the colonization and the maintenance of the fauna biota. This study aimed to assess which habitat filters influence medium and large-sized mammal recolonization in a mosaic of forest restoration in São Paulo state. The site is located near the continuum of the Southeast Atlantic forest and is composed of several restoration treatments that have been implemented since 2001, forming a mosaic of spontaneous-regenerating and planted-restored vegetation (pastures, plantings, second growth, forest fragments). Twenty sampling plots were selected among the mosaic and one trap camera was installed in each plot to capture the presence of terrestrial mammals during 11-12 months. To assess the habitat filters among the plots, vegetation structure was evaluated by a quadrant methodology (considering vegetation obstruction, canopy, ground exposure and depth of litter and vegetation cover) and food availability was evaluated by monthly pitfall traps (300mL) for arthropods and by monthly observations on plant phenological patterns of zoochoric species.

Results/Conclusions

So far, sixteen medium and large-sized mammal species, from twelve families, were recorded in the mosaic of forest restoration. The species composition varied among the plots, with specialist and generalist species being detected in both forest fragments as in restored plots. On the other hand, the spontaneous-regenerated plots were only characterized by the presence of the Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and the deer (Mazama sp.), species that are typical from those habitat physiognomies. Our results show that restoration in this area allowed the recolonization of a rich terrestrial mammal fauna, including one top predator (Puma concolor), and the biggest herbivore mammal in Brazil (Tapirus terrestris), both sensitive to altered habitats.  This mammal assembly can effectively use and/or occupy this Atlantic forest mosaic as home range or an ecological corridor. Among the habitat filters evaluated, vegetation obstruction at 1.0m from the ground, canopy and ground exposure explained better the occurrence of these species in the mosaic. Apparently, habitat filters related to vegetation complexity are more important to medium and large-sized mammal occupancy than food availability.