Logging cuts the functional importance of invertebrates in tropical rainforest
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Invertebrates are dominant species in primary tropical rainforests, where their abundance and diversity contributes to the functioning and resilience of these globally important ecosystems. However, more than one-third of tropical forests have been logged, with dramatic impacts on rainforest biodiversity that may disrupt key ecosystem processes. We find that the contribution of invertebrates to three ecosystem processes operating at three trophic levels (litter decomposition, seed predation and removal, and invertebrate predation) is reduced by up to one-half following logging. These changes are associated with decreased abundance of key functional groups of termites, ants, beetles and earthworms, and an increase in the abundance of small mammals, amphibians and insectivorous birds in logged relative to primary forest. Our results suggest that ecosystem processes themselves have considerable resilience to logging, but the consistent decline of invertebrate functional importance is indicative of a human-induced shift in how these ecological processes operate in tropical rainforests.
Date Issued
2015-04-13
Date Acceptance
2015-03-04
Citation
Nature Communications, 2015, 6, pp.1-7
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Start Page
1
End Page
7
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
6
Copyright Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License URL
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Identifier
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms7836
Grant Number
281986
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
OIL PALM PLANTATION
LEAF-AREA INDEX
LAND-USE
BIODIVERSITY
DECOMPOSITION
CONVERSION
DIVERSITY
IMPACT
CONSERVATION
RESILIENCE
Amphibians
Animals
Biodiversity
Birds
Conservation of Natural Resources
Food Chain
Forestry
Humans
Invertebrates
Malaysia
Mammals
Plant Dispersal
Population Dynamics
Rainforest
Species Specificity
Trees
Tropical Climate
Animals
Birds
Mammals
Humans
Invertebrates
Trees
Conservation of Natural Resources
Biodiversity
Food Chain
Tropical Climate
Population Dynamics
Species Specificity
Forestry
Malaysia
Amphibians
Plant Dispersal
Rainforest
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
6836
Date Publish Online
2015-04-13