Probability of presence of terrestrial mammals in the buffer zone of a protected area in southeast Peru

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Abstract

Buffer zones adjacent to protected areas can have a high conservation value for wildlife species but are usually neglected by authorities in charge of conservation areas. We used 13 camera traps in an equal number of sample stations during 1,730 trap days in the southern portion of Manu National Park buffer zone in southeastern Peru, to measure variations in the probability of presence of six terrestrial mammal species and a diversity index (Shannon-Wiener Index) with distance to the limit of the park and elevation. Relative Abundance Index (number of pictures per species/100 camera trap days) varied between 0.06 (South American coati-Nasua nasua) and 1.5 (mountain paca-Cunniculus taczanowskii). Results indicate that species responded differently to distance to the park and elevation. However for the Peruvian brocket deer (Mazama chunyi), a little known species, and for the oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), probability of presence diminished with increased distance from the park, and for the deer, it increased with elevation. On average, diversity and abundance of terrestrial mammal species diminished with distance from the park and elevation. Our results highlight the importance of buffer zones adjacent to protected area for the conservation of threatened and restricted range species. They also call for the atention to conservation initiatives outside protected areas to increase their conservation value and maintain conectivity between conservation units.

Translated abstract

Las áreas de amortiguamiento que rodean las áreas protegidas pueden tener un alto valor de conservación para las especies silvestres, pero son usualmente ignoradas por las autoridades encargadas de la gestión de las áreas protegidas. Empleamos 13 cámaras trampa en igual número de estaciones de muestreo durante 1.730 días trampa en la porción sur de la zona de amortiguamiento del Parque Nacional del Manu, en el sureste de Perú para evaluar variaciones en las probabilidades de presencia de seis especies de mamíferos terrestres y en el valor de un indice de diversidad (Indice de Shannon-Wiener) con la distancia al límite del parque y la elevación. El Indice de Abundancia Relativa (numero de fotos por especie/100 cámaras trampa día) varió entre 0.06 (coatí -Nasua nasua) y 1.5 (paca de montaña -Cunniculus taczanowskii). Los resultados sugieren que las especies respondieron en forma diferente con respecto a la distancia al límite del parque y la elevación. Para el venado peruano (Mazama chunyi), una especie muy poco conocida y con un rango de distribución restringido y para la oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), la probabilidad de presencia disminuyó a mayores distancia del límite del parque y aumentó con la elevación para el venado. La diversidad y abundancia de las especies de mamíferos terrestres evaluados en general disminuyó con la distancia al límite del parque y con la elevación. Nuestros resultados destacan la importancia de las zonas de amortiguamiento cercanas a las áreas naturales protegidas para la conservación de especies amenazadas y de rangos de distribución restringidos; también llaman la atención hacia enfoques de conservación fuera de las áreas protegidas para expandir su impacto de conservación e incrementar la conectividad entre unidades de conservación.

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Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical forest protected areas.

William F. Laurance, D. Carolina Useche, Julio Rendeiro … (2012)

The rapid disruption of tropical forests probably imperils global biodiversity more than any other contemporary phenomenon. With deforestation advancing quickly, protected areas are increasingly becoming final refuges for threatened species and natural ecosystem processes. However, many protected areas in the tropics are themselves vulnerable to human encroachment and other environmental stresses. As pressures mount, it is vital to know whether existing reserves can sustain their biodiversity. A critical constraint in addressing this question has been that data describing a broad array of biodiversity groups have been unavailable for a sufficiently large and representative sample of reserves. Here we present a uniquely comprehensive data set on changes over the past 20 to 30 years in 31 functional groups of species and 21 potential drivers of environmental change, for 60 protected areas stratified across the world’s major tropical regions. Our analysis reveals great variation in reserve ‘health’: about half of all reserves have been effective or performed passably, but the rest are experiencing an erosion of biodiversity that is often alarmingly widespread taxonomically and functionally. Habitat disruption, hunting and forest-product exploitation were the strongest predictors of declining reserve health. Crucially, environmental changes immediately outside reserves seemed nearly as important as those inside in determining their ecological fate, with changes inside reserves strongly mirroring those occurring around them. These findings suggest that tropical protected areas are often intimately linked ecologically to their surrounding habitats, and that a failure to stem broad-scale loss and degradation of such habitats could sharply increase the likelihood of serious biodiversity declines.