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Diversity and abundance of the species of arboreal mammals in a tropical rainforest in southeast Mexico.
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  • J. Rojas-Sánchez,
  • Rosamond Coates,
  • Victor Sanchez-Cordero,
  • Mario Lavariega,
  • Jose Flores Martinez
J. Rojas-Sánchez
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Instituto de Biología
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Rosamond Coates
UNAM
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Victor Sanchez-Cordero
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
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Mario Lavariega
Instituto Politécnico Nacional
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Jose Flores Martinez
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Instituto de Biología

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

Habitat loss threatens biodiversity worldwide being particularly detrimental in tropical rainforest where a cumulative deforestation expands for decades. Tropical rainforests harbor a rich mammal diversity with a wide range of species using different habitats, ranging from forest-dwelling to arboreal species. Recent techniques as camera trapping have proven useful to study the ecology of arboreal mammals. Here we assessed the overall community structure of arboreal mammals in a protected area by analyzing patterns of diversity and abundance and their spatial and seasonal variations. A total of 21 camera-trapping stations were set in clusters in three zones. Spatial and seasonal alpha diversity, and community evenness patterns were estimated using Hill’s numbers, and Sørensen’s dissimilarities were used as a proxy to estimate beta diversity. A relative abundance index was calculated for each species, at each site and season. To estimate the influence of spatial and tree-morphology on arboreal use by mammals, linear regressions were performed for species richness, evenness, and abundance; logistic regression were used to test correlations with presence/absence data. We observed a high species richness (14 species) of arboreal mammals. Species richness remained similar between sites, although shifts in abundances, and a decreasing gradient in community evenness related to distance of camera trap station located in each site were observed. We observed a high and low diversity dissimilarity between camera trap stations and between sites, respectively. Seasonality showed no significant effect over abundance, alpha and beta diversities. Linear and logistic regression of arboreal use by mammals was determined by several environmental variables. This protected area holds the natural habitat conditions to ensure the persistence of this rich arboreal mammal community.
01 Jun 2024Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
17 Jun 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
25 Jul 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
12 Aug 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
08 Oct 20241st Revision Received
09 Oct 2024Assigned to Editor
09 Oct 2024Submission Checks Completed
09 Oct 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
18 Oct 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
29 Oct 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
22 Nov 20242nd Revision Received