Proctor Trevor L, Fatungase Faridah, Barquero Leiva Jesus A, Javier Francisco, Durr Chelsea E, Paladino Frank V
School of Life Sciences University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Honolulu Hawai'i USA.
Department of Biological Sciences Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne Indiana USA.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Aug 13;15(8):e71972. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71972. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Tropical dry forests are among the most threatened tropical ecosystems due to ongoing agricultural expansion and development. Despite this, small forest patches persist within fragmented landscapes, though their conservation value remains poorly understood. To evaluate the role of one such patch in supporting wildlife, we deployed camera traps across three zones (Dense Forest, Grassland, and Sparse Forest) within the Murren Reserve, a small dry forest patch on the southern coastline of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Camera traps detected 16 vertebrate species, with opportunistic encounters adding 16 more. The most detected species included the white-nosed coati (), raccoon (), and white-tailed deer (). Additionally, we recorded nationally endangered species, including the ocelot (), puma (), and mantled howler monkey (), as well as nationally threatened species such as the spotted skunk () and white-throated magpie-jay (). Extrapolated rarefaction curves suggest that further sampling could improve species richness estimates for the Dense Forest and Grassland. Although we did not detect a difference in species composition among zones (ANOSIM, = 0.14, = 0.26), a generalized linear mixed model indicated that zone explained 17% of the variation in species richness. These findings highlight the role that small dry forest patches play in conserving both threatened species and broader vertebrate communities. We also provide recommendations for future research to address current data gaps and improve long-term monitoring in fragmented landscapes.
由于持续的农业扩张和发展,热带干旱森林是最受威胁的热带生态系统之一。尽管如此,小块森林在破碎化的景观中依然存在,但其保护价值仍知之甚少。为了评估其中一个这样的小块森林在支持野生动物方面的作用,我们在位于哥斯达黎加瓜纳卡斯特南部海岸线的一个小型干旱森林斑块穆伦保护区内的三个区域(茂密森林、草原和稀疏森林)部署了相机陷阱。相机陷阱检测到16种脊椎动物物种,偶然遇到的又增加了16种。检测到最多的物种包括白鼻浣熊、浣熊和白尾鹿。此外,我们记录到了国家濒危物种,包括豹猫、美洲狮和鬃毛吼猴,以及国家受威胁物种,如斑点臭鼬和白喉鹊鸦。外推的稀疏曲线表明,进一步采样可以改善对茂密森林和草原物种丰富度的估计。虽然我们没有检测到各区域之间物种组成的差异(ANOSIM,R = 0.14,P = 0.26),但一个广义线性混合模型表明,区域解释了物种丰富度变化的17%。这些发现突出了小型干旱森林斑块在保护受威胁物种和更广泛的脊椎动物群落方面所起的作用。我们还为未来的研究提供了建议,以解决当前的数据差距并改善对破碎化景观的长期监测。