Community structure and diversity of tropical forest mammals: data from a global camera trap network

Terrestrial mammals are a key component of tropical forest communities as indicators of ecosystem health and providers of important ecosystem services. However, there is little quantitative information about how they change with local, regional and global threats. In this paper, the first standardized pantropical forest terrestrial mammal community study, we examine several aspects of terrestrial mammal species and community diversity (species richness, species diversity, evenness, dominance, functional diversity and community structure) at seven sites around the globe using a single standardized camera trapping methodology approach. The sites-located in Uganda, Tanzania, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Suriname, Brazil and Costa Rica-are surrounded by different landscape configurations, from continuous forests to highly fragmented forests. We obtained more than 51 000 images and detected 105 species of mammals with a total sampling effort of 12 687 camera trap days. We find that mammal communities from highly fragmented sites have lower species richness, species diversity, functional diversity and higher dominance when compared with sites in partially fragmented and continuous forest. We emphasize the importance of standardized camera trapping approaches for obtaining baselines for monitoring forest mammal communities so as to adequately understand the effect of global, regional and local threats and appropriately inform conservation actions.     

The importance of considering both taxonomic and habitat guild approaches in small mammal research

Studies on the effects of habitat fragmentation on small mammals often lead to confounding results as they only consider taxonomic groups in their analysis and neglect functional diversity of the communities. Here we describe the structure and composition of small mammal communities at 22 sites, ranging from 41 to 7035 ha, in a hyper‐fragmented landscape of an Amazonia‐Cerrado ecotone. Also, in considering a taxonomic and habitat guild approach, we report the effects of habitat structures and patch spatial attributes on richness, abundance and species composition. Small mammal richness reported in southern Amazonia (N = 23 species) is greater than most previous studies in the tropics. All rare small mammals captured in this study were forest interior species. Richness of forest interior species was positively related to larger patches, as shown by the species–area relationship. However, 52% of the small mammal species were in forest fragments smaller than 50 ha, highlighting the importance of preserving both large and small forest fragments in a landscape with accelerated habitat reduction. Richness of edge‐tolerant species was not associated with the tested variables, yet edge‐tolerant species were more abundant in degraded environments. Marsupials were positively associated with vertical habitat structures, while rodents were more strongly related to a ground‐level habitat structure. The landscape studied is extremely variable and has contributed to the difficulty in detecting clear patterns, particularly when considering only one approach. Because of the complementary outputs when analysing either taxonomic groups or habitat guilds, we recommend the use of multi‐taxa studies of different guilds to assist decision makers in designing conservation strategies and appropriate management of small mammal populations.     

Random versus Game Trail-Based Camera Trap Placement Strategy for Monitoring Terrestrial Mammal Communities

Camera trap surveys exclusively targeting features of the landscape that increase the probability of photographing one or several focal species are commonly used to draw inferences on the richness, composition and structure of entire mammal communities. However, these studies ignore expected biases in species detection arising from sampling only a limited set of potential habitat features. In this study, we test the influence of camera trap placement strategy on community-level inferences by carrying out two spatially and temporally concurrent surveys of medium to large terrestrial mammal species within Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, employing either strictly game trail-based or strictly random camera placements. We compared the richness, composition and structure of the two observed communities, and evaluated what makes a species significantly more likely to be caught at trail placements. Observed communities differed marginally in their richness and composition, although differences were more noticeable during the wet season and for low levels of sampling effort. Lognormal models provided the best fit to rank abundance distributions describing the structure of all observed communities, regardless of survey type or season. Despite this, carnivore species were more likely to be detected at trail placements relative to random ones during the dry season, as were larger bodied species during the wet season. Our findings suggest that, given adequate sampling effort (> 1400 camera trap nights), placement strategy is unlikely to affect inferences made at the community level. However, surveys should consider more carefully their choice of placement strategy when targeting specific taxonomic or trophic groups.     

Studying Large Mammals With Imperfect Detection: Status and Habitat Preferences of Wild Cattle and Large Carnivores in Eastern Cambodia

Studying large mammal species in tropical forests is a conservation challenge with species’ behavior and ecology often increasing the probability of non‐detection during surveys. Consequently, knowledge of the distribution, status, and natural history of many large mammal species in Southeast Asia is limited. I developed occupancy models from camera‐trapping data, thereby accounting for imperfect detection at sampling sites, to clarify the status and habitat requirements of four globally threatened or near threatened large mammals (banteng Bos javanicus, gaur Bos gaurus, dhole Cuon alpinus, and leopard Panthera pardus) in Mondulkiri Protected Forest, eastern Cambodia. Camera traps were operational for >3500 trap nights with 202 photographic encounters of the four study species. Model averaged occupancy estimates were between 5 percent (leopard) and 140 percent (gaur) higher than naive estimates (i.e., proportion of camera‐trap sites species recorded from) thus highlighting the importance of accounting for detectability during conservation surveys. I recommend the use of an occupancy framework when using camera‐trap data to study the status, ecology, and habitat preferences of poorly known and elusive species. The results highlight the importance of mixed deciduous and semi‐evergreen forest for wild cattle in eastern Cambodia and I emphasize that these habitats must be considered in conservation planning across the Lower Mekong Dry Forest Ecoregion.     

Effects of peat swamp logging and agricultural expansion on species richness of native mammals in Peninsular Malaysia

The biodiversity inhabiting tropical peat swamp forests in Southeast Asia is currently threatened by commercial logging and agricultural expansion. The occurrence of mammals in such forests is often poorly known and the factors influencing their occurrence in these ecosystems have rarely been quantified. We aim to determine the key habitat and landscape drivers of mammal species richness in fragmented peat swamp reserves. We conducted camera trap surveys in the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF), the last remaining area of peat swamp forest on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. We also measured vegetation structure and landscape metrics to investigate the relationship between these factors and mammal richness. We recorded a total of 16 mammal species from 45 sampling sites using camera traps located in peat swamp forest reserves. Mammal species richness increased with the abundance of large trees and distance away from roads. Species richness decreased significantly with canopy cover and height, the abundance of fallen trees, the abundance of forest palms and saplings, distance away from rivers, and a measure of landscape compositional heterogeneity. Our findings underscore the high conservation value of logged peat swamp forests and the urgent need to halt further deforestation. We recommend: (1) protecting riparian habitat; (2) avoiding further forest conversion particularly areas supporting large trees into oil palm plantations; and (3) limiting road development within and around the NSPSF.     

Logging and indigenous hunting impacts on persistence of large Neotropical animals

Areas allocated for industrial logging and community‐owned forests account for over 50% of all remaining tropical forests. Landscape‐scale conservation strategies that include these forests are expected to have substantial benefits for biodiversity, especially for large mammals and birds that require extensive habitat but that are susceptible to extirpation due to synergies between logging and hunting. In addition, their responses to logging alone are poorly understood due to their cryptic behavior and low densities. In this study, we assessed the effects of logging and hunting on detection and occupancy rates of large vertebrates in a multiple‐use forest on the Guiana Shield. Our study site was certified as being responsibly managed for timber production and indigenous communities are legally guaranteed use‐rights to the forest. We coupled camera‐trap data for wildlife detection with a spatially explicit dataset on indigenous hunting. A multi‐species occupancy model found a weak positive effect of logging on occupancy and detection rates, while hunting had a weak negative effect. Model predictions of species richness were also higher in logged forest sites compared to unlogged forest sites. Density estimates for jaguars and ocelots in our multiple‐use area were similar to estimates reported for fully protected areas. Involvement of local communities in forest management, control of forest access, and nesting production forests in a landscape that includes protected areas seemed important for these positive biodiversity outcomes. The maintenance of vertebrate species bodes well for both biodiversity and the humans that depend on multiple‐use forests.     

Monitoring mammals in the Caxiuanã National Forest,Brazil – First results from the Tropical Ecology,Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) program

The need for long-term biodiversity monitoring using standardized protocols led to the creation of the Tropical Ecology, Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) initiative. At some 50 field stations in tropical forests around the world, TEAM will monitor various taxa such as ants, birds, butterflies, medium and large terrestrial mammals, primates, litter fall, and trees, as well as landscape change in nine tropical biodiversity hotspots and three tropical wilderness areas. The TEAM terrestrial mammal program calls for using a grid of camera phototraps to monitor long-term trends in densities and occupancy rates of species that can or cannot be uniquely identified, respectively. We describe the TEAM camera phototrapping program and provide results for the first TEAM site–Caxiuanã National Forest in northern Brazil. An intensive one year camera trapping effort was carried out to determine which months were most suitable for long-term monitoring. Fifteen species of medium and large terrestrial mammals and two large birds were recorded, including three xenarthrans, five carnivores, one perissodactyle, three artiodactyles, two rodents, and one marsupial. The medium and large terrestrial mammal diversity was well represented during two consecutive wet and dry months, respectively. We also recorded activity patterns for all species photographed by our camera traps more than 10 times.     

Terrestrial Mammal Occupancy in the Context of Widespread Forest Loss and a Proposed Interoceanic Canal in Nicaragua's Decreasingly Remote South Caribbean Region

Central America is experiencing rapid forest loss and habitat degradation both inside and outside of protected areas. Despite increasing deforestation, the Caribbean region of Nicaragua plays an important role in the survival or extinction of large mammal populations in Central America given that it still retains core areas of habitat for large mammal species. The proposed interoceanic canal project that would bisect the southern half of this Caribbean region represents a new threat that, combined with an advancing agricultural frontier, could affect populations of large mammal species such as jaguars, white-lipped peccaries, and Baird’s tapirs. We used occupancy models to examine the relative occupancy probabilities for an assemblage of terrestrial mammals in the south Caribbean region of Nicaragua to identify current core areas for our study species and conduct a preliminary evaluation of the potential impacts of the proposed interoceanic canal. We modeled a community level distribution of eight species with varying levels of sensitivity to human encroachment and a range of habitat associations. Our model results reveal three priority areas for terrestrial mammal conservation in our study area. The mapped predictions show that the only remaining area of suitable habitat for large mammals in the path of the proposed interoceanic canal is a relatively thin strip of forest that runs along the Caribbean Coast. In light of these findings, we propose five recommendations that will help ensure the conservation of this area of the proposed canal route as suitable habitat for our study species.     

Elevational Ranges of Montane Birds and Deforestation in the Western Andes of Colombia

Deforestation causes habitat loss, fragmentation, degradation, and can ultimately cause extinction of the remnant species. Tropical montane birds face these threats with the added natural vulnerability of narrower elevational ranges and higher specialization than lowland species. Recent studies assess the impact of present and future global climate change on species’ ranges, but only a few of these evaluate the potentially confounding effect of lowland deforestation on species elevational distributions. In the Western Andes of Colombia, an important biodiversity hotspot, we evaluated the effects of deforestation on the elevational ranges of montane birds along altitudinal transects. Using point counts and mist-nets, we surveyed six altitudinal transects spanning 2200 to 2800m. Three transects were forested from 2200 to 2800m, and three were partially deforested with forest cover only above 2400m. We compared abundance-weighted mean elevation, minimum elevation, and elevational range width. In addition to analysing the effect of deforestation on 134 species, we tested its impact within trophic guilds and habitat preference groups. Abundance-weighted mean and minimum elevations were not significantly different between forested and partially deforested transects. Range width was marginally different: as expected, ranges were larger in forested transects. Species in different trophic guilds and habitat preference categories showed different trends. These results suggest that deforestation may affect species’ elevational ranges, even within the forest that remains. Climate change will likely exacerbate harmful impacts of deforestation on species’ elevational distributions. Future conservation strategies need to account for this by protecting connected forest tracts across a wide range of elevations.     

Predictors of mammal species richness in KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

The management of multi-functional landscapes warrants better knowledge of environment-richness associations at varying disturbance levels and habitat gradients. Intensive land-use patterns for agricultural purposes lead to fragmentation of natural habitat resulting in biodiversity loss that can be measured using landscape metrics to assess mammalian richness. Since carnivores and herbivores are likely to show different responses to disturbance, we calculated carnivore, non-carnivore, and total mammal species richness from camera surveys using a first order Jackknife Estimator. Richness was compared along a habitat gradient comprising coastal forest, Acacia thicket, and highland in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We used standardized OLS regression models to identify climatic and disturbance variables, and landscape metrics as predictors of species richness. The estimated total and non-carnivore species richness were highest in coastal forest, while carnivore species richness was highest in highland followed by coastal forest and Acacia thicket. Average monthly maximum temperature was a significant predictor of all richness groups, and precipitation of the wettest month and isothermality determined total and non-carnivore species richness, respectively. These climatic variables possibly limit species distribution because of physiological tolerance of the species. Total mammal richness was determined by mean shape (+) and habitat division (−) while diversity (+) and patch richness (−) explained carnivore species richness. Mean shape index (+) influenced non-carnivore richness. However, habitat division and patch richness negatively influenced total mammal richness. Though habitat patch size and contiguity had a weak positive prediction, these metrics demonstrated the importance of habitat connectivity for maintaining mammal richness. The identification of these climatic and landscape patterns is important to facilitate future landscape management for mammal conservation in forest-mosaics.     

Influence of Fire Mosaics,Habitat Characteristics and Cattle Disturbance on Mammals in Fire-Prone Savanna Landscapes of the Northern Kimberley

Patch mosaic burning, in which fire is used to produce a mosaic of habitat patches representative of a range of fire histories (‘pyrodiversity’), has been widely advocated to promote greater biodiversity. However, the details of desired fire mosaics for prescribed burning programs are often unspecified. Threatened small to medium-sized mammals (35 g to 5.5 kg) in the fire-prone tropical savannas of Australia appear to be particularly fire-sensitive. Consequently, a clear understanding of which properties of fire mosaics are most instrumental in influencing savanna mammal populations is critical. Here we use mammal capture data, remotely sensed fire information (i.e. time since last fire, fire frequency, frequency of late dry season fires, diversity of post-fire ages in 3 km radius, and spatial extent of recently burnt, intermediate and long unburnt habitat) and structural habitat attributes (including an index of cattle disturbance) to examine which characteristics of fire mosaics most influence mammals in the north-west Kimberley. We used general linear models to examine the relationship between fire mosaic and habitat attributes on total mammal abundance and richness, and the abundance of the most commonly detected species. Strong negative associations of mammal abundance and richness with frequency of late dry season fires, the spatial extent of recently burnt habitat (post-fire age <1 year within 3 km radius) and level of cattle disturbance were observed. Shrub cover was positively related to both mammal abundance and richness, and availability of rock crevices, ground vegetation cover and spatial extent of ≥4 years unburnt habitat were all positively associated with at least some of the mammal species modelled. We found little support for diversity of post-fire age classes in the models. Our results indicate that both a high frequency of intense late dry season fires and extensive, recently burnt vegetation are likely to be detrimental to mammals in the north Kimberley. A managed fire mosaic that reduces large scale and intense fires, including the retention of ≥4 years unburnt patches, will clearly benefit savanna mammals. We also highlighted the importance of fire mosaics that retain sufficient shelter for mammals. Along with fire, it is clear that grazing by introduced herbivores also needs to be reduced so that habitat quality is maintained.     

Burrowing by translocated boodie (Bettongia lesueur) populations alters soils but has limited effects on vegetation

Digging and burrowing mammals modify soil resources, creating shelter for other animals and influencing vegetation and soil biota. The use of conservation translocations to reinstate the ecosystem functions of digging and burrowing mammals is becoming more common. However, in an increasingly altered world, the roles of translocated populations, and their importance for other species, may be different. Boodies (Bettongia lesueur), a commonly translocated species in Australia, construct extensive warrens, but how their warrens affect soil properties and vegetation communities is unknown. We investigated soil properties, vegetation communities, and novel ecosystem elements (specifically non‐native flora and fauna) on boodie warrens at three translocation sites widely distributed across the species’ former range. We found that soil moisture and most soil nutrients were higher, and soil compaction was lower, on warrens in all sites and habitat types. In contrast, there were few substantial changes to vegetation species richness, cover, composition, or productivity. In one habitat type, the cover of shrubs less than 1 m tall was greater on warrens than control plots. At the two sites where non‐native plants were present, their cover was greater, and they were more commonly found on boodie warrens compared to control plots. Fourteen species of native mammals and reptiles were recorded using the warrens, but, where they occurred, the scat of the non‐native rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) was also more abundant on the warrens. Together, our results suggest that translocated boodie populations may be benefiting both native and non‐native flora and fauna. Translocated boodies, through the construction of their warrens, substantially alter the sites where they are released, but this does not always reflect their historic ecosystem roles.     

Disturbance Alters the Phylogenetic Composition and Structure of Plant Communities in an Old Field System

The changes in phylogenetic composition and structure of communities during succession following disturbance can give us insights into the forces that are shaping communities over time. In abandoned agricultural fields, community composition changes rapidly when a field is plowed, and is thought to reflect a relaxation of competition due to the elimination of dominant species which take time to re-establish. Competition can drive phylogenetic overdispersion, due to phylogenetic conservation of ‘niche’ traits that allow species to partition resources. Therefore, undisturbed old field communities should exhibit higher phylogenetic dispersion than recently disturbed systems, which should be relatively ‘clustered’ with respect to phylogenetic relationships. Several measures of phylogenetic structure between plant communities were measured in recently plowed areas and nearby ‘undisturbed’ sites. There was no difference in the absolute values of these measures between disturbed and ‘undisturbed’ sites. However, there was a difference in the ‘expected’ phylogenetic structure between habitats, leading to significantly lower than expected phylogenetic diversity in disturbed plots, and no difference from random expectation in ‘undisturbed’ plots. This suggests that plant species characteristic of each habitat are fairly evenly distributed on the shared species pool phylogeny, but that once the initial sorting of species into the two habitat types has occurred, the processes operating on them affect each habitat differently. These results were consistent with an analysis of correlation between phylogenetic distance and co-occurrence indices of species pairs in the two habitat types. This study supports the notion that disturbed plots are more clustered than expected, rather than ‘undisturbed’ plots being more overdispersed, suggesting that disturbed plant communities are being more strongly influenced by environmental filtering of conserved niche traits.     

Habitat patch and matrix effects on small-mammal persistence in Amazonian forest fragments

Tropical forest mammal assemblages are widely affected by the twin effects of habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. We evaluated the effects of forest patch metrics, habitat structure, age of patch isolation, and landscape metrics on the species richness, abundance and composition of small mammals at 23 forest fragments (ranging in size from 43 to 7,035 ha) in a highly deforested 3,609-km² landscape of southwestern Brazilian Amazonia. Using pitfall traps and both terrestrial and arboreal traplines of Sherman, Tomahawk and snap traps, we captured a total of 844 individuals over 34,900 trap-nights representing 26 species and 20 genera of small-mammals, including 13 rodent and 13 marsupial species. We also consider the effects of distance from forest edges on species occupancy and abundance. Overall small mammal abundance, species richness and species composition were primarily affected by the quality of the open-habitat matrix of cattle pastures, rather than by patch metrics such as fragment size. Ultimately, small mammal community structure was determined by a combination of both landscape- and patch-scale variables. Knowledge of the anthropogenic factors that govern small mammal community structure is of critical importance for managing the persistence of forest vertebrates in increasingly fragmented neotropical forest landscapes.     

Camera trapping surveys of forest mammal communities in the Eastern Arc Mountains reveal generalized habitat and human disturbance responses

Large-bodied mammals are a rich and diversified faunal group in tropical rainforests. However, knowledge on community size and composition, and on species’ distribution and ecology remains often scant and inadequate against their chronic status of threats. We used camera trapping to detect mammals in the forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM) of Tanzania, a world renowned region for biodiversity comprised by a series of distinct and ancient mountain ranges partially covered in moist montane forest. We conducted surveys from 2003 to 2011 in eight of the 12 mountain blocks in Tanzania, and, through an overall sampling effort of 11,500 camera days, we detected 43 species. We normalized species richness and species’ detection events by effort, and used these metrics to assess the effect of habitat and human disturbance variables. We found that rarefied richness is positively affected by forest area at the block level, and that richness at forest patch level is also affected by forest area as well as surrounding human density (negative effect). For a subset of 17 species, we found consistent patterns of avoidance or tolerance of human disturbance and forest edges, and increased occurrence in areas at higher elevation, matching the historical forest loss that in most mountains occurred at lower elevation. Our study provides ecological insights that are novel for most species and sites, and reveals a general trend of negative impact of human disturbance on both community size and species’ relative abundance. Increased protection of the EAM forests in Tanzania is of urgent importance for the persistence of diversified mammal communities.     

Latitudinal gradients in biotic niche breadth vary across ecosystem types

Several properties of food webs—the networks of feeding links between species—are known to vary systematically with the species richness of the underlying community. Under the ‘latitude–niche breadth hypothesis’, which predicts that species in the tropics will tend to evolve narrower niches, one might expect that these scaling relationships could also be affected by latitude. To test this hypothesis, we analysed the scaling relationships between species richness and average generality, vulnerability and links per species across a set of 196 empirical food webs. In estuarine, marine and terrestrial food webs there was no effect of latitude on any scaling relationship, suggesting constant niche breadth in these habitats. In freshwater communities, on the other hand, there were strong effects of latitude on scaling relationships, supporting the latitude–niche breadth hypothesis. These contrasting findings indicate that it may be more important to account for habitat than latitude when exploring gradients in food-web structure.     

Assessing species traits and landscape relationships of the mammalian carnivore community in a neotropical biological corridor

Mammalian carnivores play an important role in regulating food webs and ecosystems. While many carnivore populations are facing various threats such as habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and illegal trade, others have adapted to human-dominated landscapes. Information about Neotropical carnivore communities in particular is limited, especially in disturbed landscapes. We conducted a camera trap survey at 38 sites across the San Juan–La Selva Biological Corridor in Costa Rica to assess occupancy and detection probabilities of the carnivore community. We developed hypotheses within a likelihood-based framework in order to determine the landscape features and species traits (diet and size) that influenced their occupancy. We detected nine of the 13 native carnivores predicted to occur in the corridor. When modeled separately, each species responded to land cover changes differently, suggesting no strong community-wide predictors of occupancy. We then modeled three separate guilds within the carnivore community: omnivorous mesopredators, obligate carnivorous mesopredators, and apex predators. These community guild models revealed a negative relationship between omnivorous mesopredators and increasing forest and tree plantation cover, suggesting omnivores utilize forest fragments and edge habitats in agricultural landscapes. Obligate carnivorous mesopredator models did not reveal any strong habitat relationships, but landscape effects tended to contradict our a priori predictions. Apex predators were positively associated with increasing forest and tree plantation cover, protected areas, and increasing distances to villages. Alarmingly, apex predators and obligate carnivorous mesopredators were generally rare within the biological corridor. A lack of top-down control alone might result in heightened occupancy for all mesopredators, but because the community is dominated by omnivorous species, bottom-up release from human-induced land cover changes and resource provision may better explain their high occupancy.     

Termites, Large Herbivores, and Herbaceous Plant Dominance Structure Small Mammal Communities in Savannahs

Large herbivores and termites are important functional groups in African savannahs. Both groups affect small mammals, which are also important determinants for savannah structure and function. Because vegetation on Macrotermes mounds are preferentially grazed by large herbivores, and mounds represent resource-rich distinct habitat patches for small mammals in relatively resource-poor savannahs, termite mounds are ideal sites for studies of how grazing by large mammals and productivity affect communities of small mammals. We conducted an experiment in Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, with four treatments: large vegetated Macrotermes mounds (with and without large herbivores) and adjacent savannah areas (with and without large herbivores). We replicated the treatment blocks nine times and trapped small mammals regularly over a period of almost 2 years. Small mammal species assemblages differed considerably between mounds and savannah areas. Grazing had a substantial effect on small mammal species assemblages in the resource-poor savannah, but not in the relatively resource-rich termitaria. Small mammal species abundance, biomass, and richness were higher on termite mounds than adjacent savannah areas. Excluding large herbivores caused a major increase in species abundance, biomass, and richness both on savannah and termitaria. Herbaceous plant species evenness was an important determinant of the small mammal community. Small mammal biomass increased with high plant dominance, indicating that a few dominant plant species are important for biomass production of small mammals. Small mammal diversity was not related to any of the treatments, but increased with plant species evenness as well as richness. Fencing increased species dominance in the small mammal community on both savannah and termitaria, probably because competitive patterns shift from inter-guild (that is, between large and small mammals) to intra-guild (that is, between small mammals) when large mammals are excluded. The study highlights the complex interactions among large herbivores, termites, herbaceous plants, and small mammals in African savannahs. When studying the structure and function of small mammal communities it is therefore important to consider several coexisting functional groups.     

Habitat characteristics or protected area size: What is more important for the composition and diversity of mammals in nonprotected areas?

The margins of protected areas are usually considered to have greater forest degradation, and given that most mammals live outside protected areas, researchers and conservation practitioners are increasingly recognizing that nonprotected areas must be incorporated into conservation strategy. However, the strategy used to manage these areas still involves increasing the size of protected areas, while not considering the habitat characteristics and requirements of the species. In this study, during a 3‐year period, camera trap and habitat characteristic surveys were used to estimate composition, diversity, and habitat characteristics of mammals to determine habitat characteristics or increase the size of protected areas what should be considered first for mammals’ conservation in a nonprotected area near the Huangshan Mountains in Anhui Province, China. From June 2017 to October 2019, 18 species of mammals were recorded, more than in any other protected area nearby. The linear model analysis results showed that habitat characteristics of mammals were different and showed a significant correlation with their relative abundance. Most species were related to vegetation characteristics, except primates (Macaca thibetana), and rodents (Leopoldamys edwardsi). Therefore, to establish conservation policies for nonprotected areas, habitat characteristics should be of prime concern, followed by increasing the size of protected areas to provide effective refuge areas for species conservation.