Influência do uso e cobertura do solo na diversidade de mamíferos terrestres em uma paisagem heterogênea

Abstract

The study of metacommunities comprises the dynamics related to patterns and processes at different scales between communities that are connected by dispersion. Disturbances caused by human activities create a heterogeneous landscape with fragments of different sizes and qualities, modifying the mammal distribution in the environment and changing their patterns of dispersion and diversity. In this study, we identified and evaluated landscape variables that could influenced the composition and richness of the community of medium and large-sized terrestrial mammals in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, State of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. We randomize 114 camera sites in the study area, where each camera operated for 24 hours and for two consecutive months in each of the three years (2015, 2016 and 2017) of sampling. We considered the percentage of natural habitat (Savannah, or Rocky Outcrop, or Forest) within a radius of 1 km, the distance to the nearest anthropic impact, and whether the site was located inside or outside protected areas, as variables that could influence the composition and richness of mammals at the camera site scale. At the regional scale, we hypothesized that non-threatened species would be more widely distributed in QF than threatened species. We also considered the annual variations and the sampling effort of the camera traps as variables that could influence the detection probability of the species. The mammalian taxa composition varied between savannah, rocky outcrop and forest habitats. Additionally, the percentage of forest and rocky outcrop habitats influenced positively and negatively species richness, respectively. At the regional scale, apparently both the non-threatened and threatened taxa are widely distributed in QF. The sampling effort of camera traps positively influenced the detection probability of taxa. The taxa richness estimated for Quadrilátero Ferrífero was 24 (CI95% = 17.6 to 28.0), which is close to our observed richness (n = 23). It is important to assess the role of habitat remnants as well as the different threats to species, patterns and processes that structure the biological communities and thus, unsure the permanence of biological diversity, especially in heterogeneous landscapes.