Exploring the relationships between zoochory and the ecosystem service potentials of both birding and bushmeat provisioning across a successional gradient in former plantations in Suriname.

Abstract

It is often assumed that biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES; direct or indirect benefits from ecosystems that humans rely on like food and carbon sequestration) are positively linked and can contribute to conservation measures. However, it is unclear to what extent this is true for specific relationships in neotropical forests. Considering how such biodiversity – ES relationships lie across a successional gradient is also important, because regenerating forests can be considered homologous to different biogeographical strata due to being dynamic systems on a temporal scale, which can obscure positive relationships. This study explores the relationships between animal-dispersed woody species (i.e., zoochorous trees and arborescent palms) and both birding and bushmeat provisioning across a successional gradient in a regenerating Surinamese forest on former plantations. Zoochory was used as a proxy to measure the theoretical potentials of birding and bushmeat to be ES in a 28-year-, a 50-year-, and an over 200-year-old forest. A vertebrate-fruit interaction dataset linked specific bird and bushmeat species to the woody species. It was hypothesized that the ES potentials would increase across succession due to an increase in zoochorous interactions. In contrast with the hypothesis, birding potential did not change, while bushmeat provisioning potential increased with forest age. It is encouraged to include earlier forest stages in future research, as it could influence the results. Additionally, future studies should directly measure the relationships between zoochory and both birding and bushmeat provisioning. This also clarifies to what extent zoochory can be used to measure birding potential and bushmeat provisioning potential. For, in a rapidly changing world, insights into how forests recover themselves could be key to ensuring their future – and ours.