Defaunation changes leaf trait composition of recruit communities in tropical forests in French Guiana

Vaessen Rens W., Jansen Patrick A., Richard-Hansen Cécile, Boot René, Denis Thomas, Derroire Géraldine, Petronelli Pascal, de Vries Jesse S., Barry Kathryn E., Ter Steege Hans, van Kuijk Marijke. 2023. Defaunation changes leaf trait composition of recruit communities in tropical forests in French Guiana. Ecology, 104 (1):e3872, 11 p.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3872

Article de revue ; Article de recherche ; Article de revue à facteur d'impact

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Url - jeu de données - Entrepôt autre : https://doi.org/10.34894/QMYHNH / Url - jeu de données - Entrepôt autre : https://bioportal.naturalis.nl/

Résumé : Hunting impacts tropical vertebrate populations, causing declines of species that function as seed dispersers and predators, or that browse seedlings and saplings. Whether and how the resulting reductions in seed dispersal, seed predation, and browsing translate to changes in the tree composition is poorly understood. Here, we assess the effect of defaunation on the functional composition of communities of tree recruits in tropical rainforests in French Guiana. We selected eight sites along a gradient of defaunation, caused by differences in hunting pressure, in otherwise intact old-growth forests in French Guiana. We measured shifts in functional composition by comparing leaf and fruit traits and wood density between tree recruits (up to 5 cm diameter at breast height) and adults, and tested whether and how these compositional shifts related to defaunation. We found a positive relationship with defaunation for shifts in specific leaf area, a negative relationship for shifts of leaf toughness and wood density, and a weak relationship for shifts in fruit traits. Our results suggest that the loss of vertebrates affects ecological processes such as seed dispersal and browsing, of which browsing remains understudied. Even though these changes sometimes seem minor, together they result in major shifts in forest composition. These changes have long-term ramifications that may alter forest dynamics for generations.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : forêt tropicale humide, dynamique des populations, forêt tropicale, bois, chasse

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : Guyane française, France

Classification Agris : F40 - Écologie végétale
F50 - Anatomie et morphologie des plantes
P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières

Champ stratégique Cirad : CTS 4 (2019-) - Santé des plantes, des animaux et des écosystèmes

Agences de financement hors UE : Agence Nationale de la Recherche

Projets sur financement : (FRA) CEnter of the study of Biodiversity in Amazonia, (FRA) ANAEE-Services

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