Impacts of Two Different Forest Management Practices on the Abundance of Mammals

Abstract

Mammalian faunas of the five tropical rain forest regions of the world (Southeast Asia, Neotropics, Africa, Madagascar, and Australia and New Guinea) have some common characteristics, such as the occurrence of few grazers, high arboreal species richness, and high numbers of frugivore specialists (Whitmore 1998; Primack and Corlett 2005). In general, the body size of mammals in tropical rain forests is relatively smaller than that of the individuals of the same or related species found in more open habitats in the same region (Primack and Corlett 2005). However, there are also differences among the five tropical rain forest regions. For example, Southeast Asia has more diverse sympatric carnivore species (e.g., bears, civets, and cats) than the other regions have (Primack and Corlett 2005, Corlett 2007). The diversities of squirrel and glider species are also high in Southeast Asian forests. On the other hand, the diversity of ungulates and small primates in this region is lower than those in the other tropical regions (Primack and Corlett 2005). Primack and Corlett (2005) suggest that the irregular fruiting cycle of the Southeast Asian rain forests is one of the reasons for this pattern. Most of the tree species in a tropical rain forest of Southeast Asia flower and fruit synchronously only at intervals of several years, consequently limiting food resource for frugivores (Primack and Corlett 2005; Corlett 2009).