Scientists study relationship between biodiversity and forests

Rice University has discovered that there is a previously unknown relationship between mammals’ biodiversity and the forests that they dwell in, according to a press release. 

According to data from 15 wildlife preserves in the form of camera traps, it has become apparent that mammals adapt to their needs by finding forests that accommodate them. 

Daniel Gorczynski, a grad student in biosciences, along with over 12 co-authors, have analyzed data from the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network’s (TEAM) motion-activated cameras that keep tabs on tropical forests in Asia, Africa and South America. 

“The TEAM data are an incredible resource for basic and applied ecology and conservation,” Lydia Beaudrot, assistant professor of biosciences, said. “Given the pace of tropical forest loss, it is more important now than ever to use standardized camera-trap data to understand environmental and anthropogenic effects on wildlife.”

The research team was able to gather data from terrestrial mammal species that have an average body mass of 1 kilogram or more and compiled data for a number of communities, such as body size, reproductive habits and diet.

“We found that species with unique characteristics — for example, species that are very large or eat unique foods — are relatively more common in forests with high productivity,” Gorczynski said. “Higher productivity is thought to make rare resources, like certain food types that unique species often eat, more readily available, which unique species can capitalize on.”

Commonly, studies on rainforest animals are dependent on range maps, which can fail to provide an accurate representation of species, however, the use of camera traps gives more accurate insights and allows scientists to make more nuanced distinctions between species and traits. 

The study also revealed that human activities which are destructive in nature, like deforestation, will results in a lessened diversity of species’ traits within protected areas.