National parks preserve more than species
Study of Costa Rican rainforest shows national parks are more resilient
than expected

Date:
September 9, 2020
Source:
Rice University
Summary:
National parks are safe havens for endangered and threatened
species, but an analysis by data scientists finds parks and
protected areas can preserve more than species.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== National parks are safe havens for endangered and threatened species,
but an analysis by Rice University data scientists finds parks and
protected areas can preserve more than species.


==========================================================================
In a study published online this week in the journal Biotropica, Rice ecologists and data scientists Daniel Gorczynski and Lydia Beaudrot used thousands of camera trap photos to assess the large mammal diversity in
the protected rainforest of Costa Rica's Braulio Carrillo National Park.

In wildlife conservation, diversity often refers to the variety of species
in an ecosystem. But ecologists also study functional diversity, the
abundance and variation of traits like body size, diet and reproductive
rate. Trait diversity can be measured independent of species diversity
and provide additional insight about the overall health of an ecosystem.

In the study, Gorczynski and Beaudrot analyzed more than 4,200 photos of mammals taken in the park between 2007 and 2014 and found the diversity of mammal traits within the park did not decline, despite deforestation that fragmented the forests on more than half of the surrounding private lands.

"It is a bit of a surprise," said Gorczynski, a Ph.D. student in Rice's Department of Biosciences. "Previous studies in other places have shown
that trait diversity is more sensitive to human disturbance than species diversity.

Trait diversity can decline more quickly than species diversity, both
in cases where species go extinct and where they don't." There were
no mammal extinctions in Braulio Carrillo during the eight years of
the study, and Beaudrot, an assistant professor of biosciences at Rice,
said the trait analysis revealed a level of functional redundancy that
could allow the park's ecosystem to continue functioning even if some
of its mammals go extinct in the future.

"It's well-established that national parks preserve species, and our
results show national parks can be more resilient than expected, at
least over the time period we examined," she said.

Beaudrot said the results are encouraging, but she said it would be a
mistake to assume that all national parks are as resilient as Braulio
Carrillo.

"This shows what's possible, but the situation could be very different at
other parks or over longer time periods," she said. "We need comparable
studies for other parks, other protected areas and nonprotected areas.

"This is an area where data science can make a difference," she
said. "Some of the data needed to make those comparisons are already available."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Rice_University. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Daniel Gorczynski, Lydia Beaudrot. Functional diversity and
redundancy of
tropical forest mammals over time. Biotropica, 2020; DOI: 10.1111/
btp.12844 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200909124012.htm

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