Amy Dunham
@amydunham.bsky.social
Assoc Prof in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice University. Tropical Community Ecologist.
Big picture: Biodiversity loss disrupts ecosystems. 🌳🐒 Defaunation weakens critical animal-plant interactions, jeopardizing tropical forest health and resilience. 🌿
🔗 Study: doi.org/10.1111/mec.17620
Authors: Lamperty et al., 2024
(5/5)
🔗 Study: doi.org/10.1111/mec.17620
Authors: Lamperty et al., 2024
(5/5)
Defaunation Increases Clustering and Fine‐Scale Spatial Genetic Structure in a Small‐Seeded Palm Despite Remaining Small‐Bodied Frugivores
Anthropogenic pressures such as hunting are increasingly driving the localised functional extinctions of large- and medium-sized wildlife in tropical forests, a phenomenon broadly termed ‘defaunation...
doi.org
December 13, 2024 at 5:02 PM
Big picture: Biodiversity loss disrupts ecosystems. 🌳🐒 Defaunation weakens critical animal-plant interactions, jeopardizing tropical forest health and resilience. 🌿
🔗 Study: doi.org/10.1111/mec.17620
Authors: Lamperty et al., 2024
(5/5)
🔗 Study: doi.org/10.1111/mec.17620
Authors: Lamperty et al., 2024
(5/5)
Defaunation doesn’t just affect large-seeded plants needing big animals like tapirs 🐾. Even "generalist" plants with small seeds and a range of dispersers can suffer. Losing long-distance dispersers alters forest dynamics in ways we’re only beginning to grasp. (4/5)
December 13, 2024 at 4:51 PM
Defaunation doesn’t just affect large-seeded plants needing big animals like tapirs 🐾. Even "generalist" plants with small seeds and a range of dispersers can suffer. Losing long-distance dispersers alters forest dynamics in ways we’re only beginning to grasp. (4/5)
Why does this matter? When seeds aren't dispersed far:
📉 Gene flow drops
📈 Inbreeding risks rise
⚠️ Long-term resilience of plant populations may decline
(3/5)
📉 Gene flow drops
📈 Inbreeding risks rise
⚠️ Long-term resilience of plant populations may decline
(3/5)
December 13, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Why does this matter? When seeds aren't dispersed far:
📉 Gene flow drops
📈 Inbreeding risks rise
⚠️ Long-term resilience of plant populations may decline
(3/5)
📉 Gene flow drops
📈 Inbreeding risks rise
⚠️ Long-term resilience of plant populations may decline
(3/5)
Our study focused on Euterpe precatoria, a hyperdominant and small-seeded palm in Peru. Despite remaining small-bodied dispersers, seedlings in defaunated forests showed:
📍 Higher clustering
🧬 Increased genetic similarity
🗺️ Shorter seed dispersal distances
(2/5)
📍 Higher clustering
🧬 Increased genetic similarity
🗺️ Shorter seed dispersal distances
(2/5)
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
Our study focused on Euterpe precatoria, a hyperdominant and small-seeded palm in Peru. Despite remaining small-bodied dispersers, seedlings in defaunated forests showed:
📍 Higher clustering
🧬 Increased genetic similarity
🗺️ Shorter seed dispersal distances
(2/5)
📍 Higher clustering
🧬 Increased genetic similarity
🗺️ Shorter seed dispersal distances
(2/5)
Reposted by Amy Dunham
The theme of our symposium is #Primates and Regenerating Forests: Futures in #Restoration.
If you or someone in your network has research they'd like to share on this topic, send me a message so we can get you involved in this work.
Hope to see you in Tana! 🐒🦍🦧🇲🇬 @ips-primatenews.bsky.social
If you or someone in your network has research they'd like to share on this topic, send me a message so we can get you involved in this work.
Hope to see you in Tana! 🐒🦍🦧🇲🇬 @ips-primatenews.bsky.social
November 21, 2024 at 6:19 PM
The theme of our symposium is #Primates and Regenerating Forests: Futures in #Restoration.
If you or someone in your network has research they'd like to share on this topic, send me a message so we can get you involved in this work.
Hope to see you in Tana! 🐒🦍🦧🇲🇬 @ips-primatenews.bsky.social
If you or someone in your network has research they'd like to share on this topic, send me a message so we can get you involved in this work.
Hope to see you in Tana! 🐒🦍🦧🇲🇬 @ips-primatenews.bsky.social