Bat and Bird Assemblages from Forests and Shade Cacao Plantations in Two Contrasting Landscapes in the Atlantic Forest of Southern Bahia, Brazil |
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Authors: | Deborah Faria Rudi Ricardo Laps Julio Baumgarten Maurício Cetra |
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Institution: | 1. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Ilhéus Itabuna, Km 16, CEP 45650-000, Ilhéus-BA, Brazil 2. Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB), Cx. Postal 1507, CEP 89010-971, Blumenau-SC, Brazil 3. Pós-Gradua??o em Ecologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas-SP, Brazil 4. Departamento de Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Ilhéus Itabuna, Km 16, CEP 45650-000, Ilhéus-BA, Brazil
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Abstract: | In the core region of Brazilian cocoa production, shade cacao plantations (so-called cabrucas) are important components of
regional landscapes, constituting potential habitat for a vast array of the regional biota. This research focuses on the ability
of cabrucas to harbor bird and bat species in two nearby districts – Una and Ilhéus – with contrasting landscapes. At Una,
cabrucas represent less than 6% of the land and are surrounded by large tracts of forest, whereas at Ilhéus these shade plantations
are the landscape's dominant feature. Bird and bat communities were richer in cabrucas located in Una compared to nearby forest,
while cabrucas from the Ilhéus landscape were significantly poorer in species than nearby forest fragments. However, bird
assemblages in cabrucas were characterized by the loss of understory specialists and the increase of more open area and generalist
species, whereas forest dwellers still comprised most of the bat species reported in cabrucas. Species richness and composition
differed between the two landscapes. Forest fragments and cabrucas from Ilhéus harbored fewer forest-dwelling species than
similar habitats in Una. Our study shows that cabrucas support high species richness of birds and bats from the native assemblages
but are no surrogates for intact forests, since the presence and representativeness of some forest species apparently depends
on the existence of nearby forests. A landscape dominated by cabrucas with a minor portion of native forest is unlikely to
ensure long-term conservation of many target species, particularly those of major conservation concern. |
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Keywords: | Agroforestry Atlantic Forest Bats Birds Cabruca Neotropics Shade Cacao Plantation |
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