An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula's Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica.
Habitat loss and fragmentation, together with related edge effects, are the primary cause of global biodiversity decline. Despite a large amount of research quantifying and demonstrating the degree of these effects, particularly in top predators and their prey, most fragmented patches are lost befor...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2019-01-01
|
Series: | PLoS ONE |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214390 |
id |
doaj-999c0ff613e341aea5a395c09331dc3e |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-999c0ff613e341aea5a395c09331dc3e2021-03-03T20:47:20ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01143e021439010.1371/journal.pone.0214390An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula's Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica.Beatriz Lopez GutierrezAngélica M Almeyda ZambranoSandra L Almeyda ZambranoCarlos A Quispe GilStephanie BohlmanEduardo Avellan AriasGuillermo MulderClare OlsRodolfo DirzoAnneke M DeLuyckerKaren LewisEben N BroadbentHabitat loss and fragmentation, together with related edge effects, are the primary cause of global biodiversity decline. Despite a large amount of research quantifying and demonstrating the degree of these effects, particularly in top predators and their prey, most fragmented patches are lost before their conservation value is recognized. This study evaluates terrestrial vertebrates in Playa Sandalo, in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, which represents the last patch of "primary" forest in the most developed part of this region. Our study indicates that the diversity of ground species detected within Playa Sandalo rival other areas under active conservation like Lapa Rios Ecolodge. Historical fragmentation, together with the maintenance of forest cover in isolated conditions, are potentially responsible for the species composition observed within Playa Sandalo; facilitating the development of a prey-predator system including ocelots, medium-size mammals, and birds at the top of the trophic chain. The high diversity of both habitat and vertebrates, its prime location and cultural value, as well as its unique marine importance represent the ideal conditions for conservation. Conservation of Playa Sandalo, and other small tropical forest remnants, might represent the only management option for wildlife conservation within ever growing human-dominated landscapes.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214390 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Beatriz Lopez Gutierrez Angélica M Almeyda Zambrano Sandra L Almeyda Zambrano Carlos A Quispe Gil Stephanie Bohlman Eduardo Avellan Arias Guillermo Mulder Clare Ols Rodolfo Dirzo Anneke M DeLuycker Karen Lewis Eben N Broadbent |
spellingShingle |
Beatriz Lopez Gutierrez Angélica M Almeyda Zambrano Sandra L Almeyda Zambrano Carlos A Quispe Gil Stephanie Bohlman Eduardo Avellan Arias Guillermo Mulder Clare Ols Rodolfo Dirzo Anneke M DeLuycker Karen Lewis Eben N Broadbent An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula's Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica. PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Beatriz Lopez Gutierrez Angélica M Almeyda Zambrano Sandra L Almeyda Zambrano Carlos A Quispe Gil Stephanie Bohlman Eduardo Avellan Arias Guillermo Mulder Clare Ols Rodolfo Dirzo Anneke M DeLuycker Karen Lewis Eben N Broadbent |
author_sort |
Beatriz Lopez Gutierrez |
title |
An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula's Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica. |
title_short |
An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula's Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica. |
title_full |
An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula's Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica. |
title_fullStr |
An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula's Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica. |
title_full_unstemmed |
An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula's Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica. |
title_sort |
island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: the last fragment of primary forest on the osa peninsula's golfo dulce coastline, costa rica. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2019-01-01 |
description |
Habitat loss and fragmentation, together with related edge effects, are the primary cause of global biodiversity decline. Despite a large amount of research quantifying and demonstrating the degree of these effects, particularly in top predators and their prey, most fragmented patches are lost before their conservation value is recognized. This study evaluates terrestrial vertebrates in Playa Sandalo, in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, which represents the last patch of "primary" forest in the most developed part of this region. Our study indicates that the diversity of ground species detected within Playa Sandalo rival other areas under active conservation like Lapa Rios Ecolodge. Historical fragmentation, together with the maintenance of forest cover in isolated conditions, are potentially responsible for the species composition observed within Playa Sandalo; facilitating the development of a prey-predator system including ocelots, medium-size mammals, and birds at the top of the trophic chain. The high diversity of both habitat and vertebrates, its prime location and cultural value, as well as its unique marine importance represent the ideal conditions for conservation. Conservation of Playa Sandalo, and other small tropical forest remnants, might represent the only management option for wildlife conservation within ever growing human-dominated landscapes. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214390 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT beatrizlopezgutierrez anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT angelicamalmeydazambrano anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT sandralalmeydazambrano anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT carlosaquispegil anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT stephaniebohlman anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT eduardoavellanarias anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT guillermomulder anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT clareols anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT rodolfodirzo anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT annekemdeluycker anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT karenlewis anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT ebennbroadbent anislandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT beatrizlopezgutierrez islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT angelicamalmeydazambrano islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT sandralalmeydazambrano islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT carlosaquispegil islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT stephaniebohlman islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT eduardoavellanarias islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT guillermomulder islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT clareols islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT rodolfodirzo islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT annekemdeluycker islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT karenlewis islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica AT ebennbroadbent islandofwildlifeinahumandominatedlandscapethelastfragmentofprimaryforestontheosapeninsulasgolfodulcecoastlinecostarica |
_version_ |
1714820531606257664 |