Ross, SRP, Garcia, FH, Fischer, G et al. (1 more author) (2018) Selective logging intensity in an East African rain forest predicts reductions in ant diversity. Biotropica, 50 (5). pp. 768-778. ISSN 0006-3606
Abstract
As natural forest ecosystems increasingly face pressure from deforestation, it is ever more important to understand the impacts of habitat fragmentation and degradation on biodiversity. Most studies of anthropogenic change in the tropics come from Southeast Asia and South America, and impacts of habitat modification are often taxon‐specific. Here we empirically assessed the impact of habitat fragmentation and recent (within 25 yr) and historic (>25 yr ago) selective logging on the diversity of ants in the Kakamega rain forest in western Kenya, and asked whether these forms of degradation interact as multiple stressors. We found that the severity of recent selective logging was negatively related to overall species richness and abundance as well as the richness and abundance of forest specialists, but found no detrimental effect of past selective logging or habitat fragmentation on ant diversity, although habitat fragment size was correlated with estimated species richness. There was also no effect of any form of habitat degradation on the richness or abundance of open habitat specialists, even though these species often exploit niches created in disturbed environments. Ultimately, this study reveals the detrimental impact of even moderate forms of habitat degradation on insect biodiversity in the understudied African rain forests.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ross, SRP, Garcia, FH, Fischer, G et al. (1 more author) (2018) Selective logging intensity in an East African rain forest predicts reductions in ant diversity. Biotropica, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12569. This article may be used for noncommercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | biodiversity; habitat degradation; habitat fragmentation; multiple stressors; forest specialists; disturbance specialists; Kakamega forest; Kenya |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 25 Apr 2018 10:52 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jun 2019 08:22 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/btp.12569 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:130052 |