Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé : International audience
Whereas broad-scale Amazonian forest types have been shown to influence the structure of the communities of medium-to large-bodied vertebrates, their natural heterogeneity at smaller scale or within the terra firme forests remains poorly described and understood. Diversity indices of such communities and the relative abundance of the 21 most commonly observed species were compared from standardized line-transect data across 25 study sites distributed in undisturbed forests in French Guiana. We first assessed the relevance of a forest typology based on geomorphological landscapes to explain the observed heterogeneity. As previously found for tree beta-diversity patterns, this new typology proved to be a non-negligible factor underlying the beta diversity of the communities of medium-to large bodied vertebrates in French Guianan terra firme forests. Although the species studied are almost ubiquitous across the region, they exhibited habitat preferences through significant variation in abundance and in their association index with the different landscape types. As terra firme forests represent more than 90% of the Amazon basin, characterizing their heterogeneity-including faunal communities-is a major challenge in neotropical forest ecology.
ISSN: 0266-4674

hal-01502647
https://hal-agroparistech.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01502647
DOI : 10.1017/S0266467415000255

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The Black Curassow (Crax alector) is a large game bird with Vulnerable conservation status found in north-centralSouth America. We examined its distributional pattern across French Guiana using a large number of environmentaldescriptors at 3 scales of analysis: landscape, forest type, and microhabitat. We used a hierarchical model withtemporary emigration and imperfect detection for data collected by standard distance sampling methods at 35study sites. At the landscape scale, Black Curassow density decreased with hunting pressure and increased withsteeper slopes in both hunted and unhunted areas. Topography appeared to be a good proxy for Black Curassowecological requirements and probably reflected habitat quality. At the forest scale, population density wasnegatively correlated with the abundance of palms and Mimosoideae and positively correlated with the abundanceof Lauraceae. Botanical families did not directly influence Black Curassow distribution, but rather determined spatialpatterns by being markers of a particular forest type. At the microhabitat scale, Black Curassows used hilltops morefrequently than other parts of the local topographical gradient. Our multiscale analysis shows that this species’distribution can be explained by biotic or abiotic conditions, regardless of the scale. For conservation, werecommend maintaining connectivity between Black Curassow populations separated by hunted areas. Ourpredicted densities could be used to adapt hunting quotas across French Guiana’s forests. We show that combiningfield and remote sensing data helps to understand the ecological processes responsible for Black Curassow habitatrelationships.
The Condor Ornithological Applications

hal-01455653
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653/file/condor-15-28.1.pdf
DOI : 10.1650/CONDOR-15-28.1