Estimating interaction credit for trophic rewilding in tropical forests

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Restoration Ecology

Background:

• Defaunation, the loss of animal species, disrupts vital ecological interactions, including seed dispersal.
• Trophic rewilding is proposed as a strategy to counteract defaunation and restore ecosystem functioning.
• Animal-mediated seed dispersal is a critical ecological process threatened by widespread species loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and apply a novel approach for quantifying the potential of trophic rewilding to restore seed-dispersal interactions.
• To identify priority areas and candidate species for rewilding initiatives in the Atlantic Forest.
• To assess how landscape fragmentation affects the potential for restoring seed-dispersal networks.

Main Methods:

• Integration of joint species distribution models with species occurrence data and interaction records.
• Application of the approach to the Atlantic Forest, a global biodiversity hotspot.
• Ranking of mammal and bird species based on their potential to restore seed-dispersal interactions.

Main Results:

• Large forest fragments with high tree diversity showed significantly higher potential (up to 20 times) for restoring seed-dispersal interactions compared to small fragments in defaunated areas.
• Specific mammal and bird species were identified as key candidates for reintroduction to enhance seed dispersal.
• The study highlights the scale-dependent benefits of rewilding for restoring ecological interactions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed modeling approach effectively quantifies rewilding potential for restoring seed dispersal.
• Trophic rewilding can be a powerful tool for mitigating defaunation impacts in tropical rainforests like the Atlantic Forest.
• Conservation strategies should prioritize large, biodiverse fragments and carefully select species for reintroduction to maximize restoration success.