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Area of Science:

  • Ecology and Conservation Biology
  • Biodiversity Studies
  • Environmental Science

Background:

  • Human activities significantly impact biodiversity, yet their precise effect on species richness remains debated.
  • Some research indicates declining species richness with human pressure, while others note insensitivity or even increases due to species turnover (winners replacing losers).
  • Many 'winner' species thrive under intermediate human pressure but decline at higher levels, suggesting a potential decline in overall species richness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the relationship between human footprint and bird species richness in tropical forests.
  • To investigate how species composition changes under varying levels of human pressure.
  • To identify and classify different trajectories of species richness response to human pressure across various regions.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of eBird data from tropical forests to assess changes in species composition and richness.
  • Comparison of findings with data from the North America Breeding Bird Survey and the PREDICTS database across eight biodiversity hotspots.
  • Classification of species richness response trajectories based on slope and monotony.

Main Results:

  • Increasing human footprint initially leads to the replacement of specialist/sensitive species ('losers') by generalist/tolerant species ('winners'), causing a slight rise in species richness.
  • Beyond a specific human pressure threshold, species richness plateaus or declines steeply, except for anthropophilic and non-native species.
  • The shape of the species richness response to human footprint varies significantly across different regions, revealing five distinct trajectories.

Conclusions:

  • Human pressure has a complex, non-linear effect on species richness, characterized by initial increases followed by declines.
  • The 'replace then remove' framework can unify seemingly contradictory findings on human pressure's impact on biodiversity.
  • Understanding regional variations in species richness response is crucial for effective conservation strategies in human-modified landscapes.