Diversity and abundance of the species of arboreal mammals in a tropical
rainforest in southeast Mexico.
Abstract
Habitat loss threatens biodiversity worldwide being particularly
detrimental in tropical rainforest where a cumulative deforestation
expands for decades. Tropical rainforests harbor a rich mammal diversity
with a wide range of species using different habitats, ranging from
forest-dwelling to arboreal species. Recent techniques as camera
trapping have proven useful to study the ecology of arboreal mammals.
Here we assessed the overall community structure of arboreal mammals in
a protected area by analyzing patterns of diversity and abundance and
their spatial and seasonal variations. A total of 21 camera-trapping
stations were set in clusters in three zones. Spatial and seasonal alpha
diversity, and community evenness patterns were estimated using Hill’s
numbers, and Sørensen’s dissimilarities were used as a proxy to estimate
beta diversity. A relative abundance index was calculated for each
species, at each site and season. To estimate the influence of spatial
and tree-morphology on arboreal use by mammals, linear regressions were
performed for species richness, evenness, and abundance; logistic
regression were used to test correlations with presence/absence data. We
observed a high species richness (14 species) of arboreal mammals.
Species richness remained similar between sites, although shifts in
abundances, and a decreasing gradient in community evenness related to
distance of camera trap station located in each site were observed. We
observed a high and low diversity dissimilarity between camera trap
stations and between sites, respectively. Seasonality showed no
significant effect over abundance, alpha and beta diversities. Linear
and logistic regression of arboreal use by mammals was determined by
several environmental variables. This protected area holds the natural
habitat conditions to ensure the persistence of this rich arboreal
mammal community.