Habitat fragmentation, fire and hunting

shape mammals richness in la Gran Sabana, Venezuela

IZABELA STACHOWICZ1,2, JOSÉ RAFAEL FERRER-PARIS1
1 Centro de Estudios Botánicos y Agroforestales, Laboratorio de Ecología Espacial, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Maracaibo, Venezuela,
2 Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Altos de los Pipe, Venezuela
Contact: stachowicz.izabela@gmail.com, jr.ferrer.paris@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION CONCLUSION

Habitat fragmentation, wildfire and hunting are  Intermediate levels of disturbance can support high richness of
60
anthropogenic disturbances that pose direct threat medium and big mammals, partially conforming to the IDH.
to wildlife and have gained increasing importance for  Among all disturbance lack of forest cover, followed by hunting 50

Species richness (Chao1)

conservation. are the most important factor shaping mammals richness, while 40
? Do some level of disturbances enhance fire plays marginal role.
biodiversity in the Gran Sabana of Venezuela?  Carnivores species disappear first as fragmentation increases, 30

(Intermediate Disturbance Hipotesis, Conell 1987) while herbivores are more resistant to landscape change. With 20
prediction
? Which mammals diet group tolerate habitat increasing perturbation (fragmentation and fire) species loss occurs,
10
fragmentation and fire disturbance? not replacement of other species adapted to perturbation.
? What mammals species are most hunted among  Pemóns preferred prey is white-tailed deer. Its low relative 0
B0 b0 bf Bf BF s0 bF S0 sf sF Sf SF
Pemón, indigenous ethnic group from region? abundance is probably due to overhunting caused by increase in local Cell’s caracteristic
The study was performed at the border of the indigenous population during last 40 years and it high value as a prey.
Canaima National Park, UNESCO Natural Heritage  Conservation: different levels of anthropogenic disturbance in Disturbance
side, in south-east Venezuela, were during 2000-2015 Canaima NP and its surroundings can both promote and decrease Figure 1. Species richess estimated with Chao1 for each cell
significant habitat loss of 207 km2 was register. mammals richness what should be evaluated for management plan caracteristic of disturbance and general prediction for IDH.

Hunting pressure was estimated MATERIALS AND METHODS

from interviews among indigenous
Pemón communities and where LOCATION: complex landscape of savannas, with patches of forests in la Gran DESIGN: arrays of 30 camera traps in six blocks
camera trap were installed. Sabana (GS) at the border of the Canaima National Park in south-east Venezuela in (50km2) of landscape described with two
area of 615 km2, during 6 months between September 2015 and April 2016. parameters mentioned for fragmentation (Fig.2).
Each block was divided in 25 cells (2km2)
described with different parameters (B0,sF, s0,
h=5,4 etc.):
h=39,4
2 H=1,64 type of vegetation frequency of fire
4 H=1,54 B: continuous forest incidents
h=82,5 b: fragmented with 0: no fire
3 H=1,65 predominance of forest f: one fire event in 16
s: fragmented with years
predominance of savanna F: more than one fire
S: savannah event in 16 years
ANALYSIS:
h=0,4  To estimate richness at the block level
1 H=1,69 (fragmentation perturbation) Chao1 index
h=53
were calculated and for cells level with AVONA
5 H=1,50
was run for two continuous variable forest and
Fragmentation was fire to test IDH.
assessed for each block  Beta diversity compounds of nestedness
with two parameters: h – (species loss) and turnover (species
Sf
proportion of forest in the replacement) was estimated for large and
landscape, H - fractal medium and mammals diet groups; carnivores,
dimension of the forest in h=20,3
6 H=1,61 herbivores, insectivores and omnivores.
the landscape (Ritchie  Hunting - two values were calculated: Hv
2009, forest cover based
hunting importance for each species and Pv
on MODIS data Sexton et
al., 2013).
preference value for most commonly chosen
Punctual incidence of fires
Number of
1 block species.
estimated from time series of Figure 2. Map of study area with block (with h and H parameters) and cells division (only for one all cell’s  PERMANOVA: for all disturbance in
remote sensors spanning the characteristics of disturbance are shown). Fire incidence and location of hunting activity are presented. camera trap localities: fragmentation, fire
past 16 years (Giglio et al. 2003). and hunting.

RESULTS
Disturbance
Inventory All disturbance
27,2 PERMANOVA results indicating forest pesence
 29 species of mammals were registered, 81,5% of those 22,5 Df R2 Pr(>F) is the most important variable (p<0,001)
that we expected, including giant armadillo (Priodontes 18,6 18,7
forest 1 0.1 0.001*** explaining difference in richness between
maximus), tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and jaguar (Panthera
hunting 1 0.03 0.042* cells with different disturbance level, then
onca).
8,2 hunting (p<0,042) and fire has marginal
 The sampling effort reached 4548 camera day with the 5,3
fire 1 0.02 0.103
imprtance.
average 758 camera day per block, giving 7466 events Residuals 64 0.83
B01 B02 B06 B04 B05 B03
recorded with the interval between photographs larger Total 67 1.00
than 5 minutes. Richness of species in block Hunting
Figure 4. PERMANOVA results indicating forest
Figure 3. Species richess estimated with Chao1 pesence as significant variable explaining difference
Fragmentation of habitat for each block with different fragmentation level. in richness, then hunting.

 Chao1 estimator showed highest richness in undisturbed

and intermediately disturbed habitat (Fig. 1), where forest
cover variable explain differences in richness level between
blocks (p<0,001), while fire has secondary impact
(p<0,062). Further analysis showed a sequence of lower to White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (Hv
Disturbance

higher mammalian richness according to the proportion of
available habitat (forest cover) and its aggregation
(estimated with fractal indices) (Fig.3).
 Nestedness value was higher for carnivores (0,48) then
turnover (0,09) both, between blocks and cells, while for
insectivores only at landscape level (nestedeness 0,16;
turnover 0,02)(Fig. 5). No significance difference for big and
middle mammals was register.
= 6,82) and lapa (Cuniculus paca) (6,33) are
the most important preys form Pemón
community and the first one is always the
preferable (Pv= 4,89), however they
drastically differ in relative abundance (0,02
and 1,84, respectively). Interestingly, much
Figure 5. Nestedness for carnivores (0,23, while turnover 0,04) and herbivores (0,06, turnover 0,02)
calculated in ech type of cell disturbance characteristic. more abundant lapa also highy hunted
maintain its high abundance level.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Pemón communites of 5 sector in la Gran Sabana and sponsors:

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HERE !!!

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