Assessing Ecological Disturbance in Neotropical Forest Landscapes Using High-Level Diversity and High-Level Functionality: Surprising Outcomes from a Case Study with Spider Assemblages

Darinka Costa Gonzalez, Reinaldo Lucas Cajaiba, Eduardo Périco, Wully Barreto da Silva, Antônio Domingos Brescovite, António Maria Luis Crespi and Mário Santos
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Darinka Costa Gonzalez: Laboratory of Applied Ecology, CITAB—Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences, Institute for Innovation, Capacity Building and Sustainability of Agri-Food Production (Inov4Agro), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-911 Vila Real, Portugal
Reinaldo Lucas Cajaiba: Laboratory of Applied Ecology, CITAB—Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences, Institute for Innovation, Capacity Building and Sustainability of Agri-Food Production (Inov4Agro), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-911 Vila Real, Portugal
Eduardo Périco: Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution, University of Taquari Valley, Lajeado 95900-000, Brazil
Wully Barreto da Silva: Laboratory of Ecology and Conservation, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Maranhão, Buriticupu 65393-000, Brazil
Antônio Domingos Brescovite: Laboratory of Zoological Collections, Butantan Institute, São Paulo 05503-900, Brazil
António Maria Luis Crespi: Laboratory of Ecology and Conservation, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Maranhão, Buriticupu 65393-000, Brazil
Mário Santos: Laboratory of Applied Ecology, CITAB—Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences, Institute for Innovation, Capacity Building and Sustainability of Agri-Food Production (Inov4Agro), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-911 Vila Real, Portugal

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Spiders have been increasingly used as environmental and ecological indicators in conservation and ecosystem management. In the Neotropics, there is a shortage of information regarding spiders’ taxonomies and ecological responses to anthropogenic disturbances. To unravel these hitches, we tested the possibility of using high-level diversity and high-level functionality indicators to evaluate spider assemblages’ sensitivity to landscape changes. This approach, if proven informative, might overcome the relevant limitations of taxonomic derived indexes, which are considered time-consuming, cost-demanding and dependent on the (few) expert taxonomists’ availability. Our results highlight the pertinence of both indicators’ responses to the structural changes induced by increasing anthropogenic disturbance, and are associated with reductions in ecosystem complexity, microclimates, and microhabitats. Overall, both indicators were sensitive to structural changes induced by anthropogenic disturbance and should be considered a useful resource for assessing the extent of ecosystems’ disruptions in the Neotropics, and also to guide managers in landscapes’ restoration.

Keywords: Neotropical forests; spider’s assemblages; ecological indicators; high-level functionality; high-level diversity; anthropogenic disturbance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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