Data from: Yet another empty forest: considering the conservation value of a recently established tropical nature reserve

The primary approach used to conserve tropical biodiversity is in the establishment of protected areas. However, many tropical nature reserves are performing poorly and interventions in the broader landscape may be essential for conserving biodiversity both within reserves and at large. Between October 2010 and 2012, we conducted bird surveys in and around a recently established nature reserve in Xishuangbanna, China. We constructed a checklist of observed species, previously recorded species, and species inferred to have occurred in the area from their distributions and habitat requirements. In addition, we assessed variation in community composition and habitat specificity at a landscape-scale. Despite the fact that the landscape supports a large area of natural forest habitat (~50,000 ha), we estimate that >40% of the bird fauna has been extirpated and abundant evidence suggests hunting is the primary cause. A large proportion (52%) of the bigger birds (>20 cm) were extirpated and for large birds there was a U-shaped relationship between habitat breadth and extirpation probability. Habitat specificity was low and bird communities were dominated by widespread species of limited conservation concern. We question whether extending tropical protected area networks will deliver desired conservation gains, unless much greater effort is channeled into addressing the hunting problem both within existing protected areas and in the broader landscape.

保护热带生物多样性的首要举措是建立自然保护区（protected areas）。然而，许多热带自然保护区的管护成效不佳，因此在更大尺度的景观层面开展干预措施，或许对保护区内外乃至更广范围的生物多样性保护都至关重要。2010年10月至2012年间，我们在中国西双版纳（Xishuangbanna）一处新建自然保护区内外开展了鸟类调查。我们通过整合本次调查观测到的物种、历史记录物种，以及依据分布范围与栖息地需求推断曾在该区域出现的物种，编制了区域物种名录。此外，我们在景观尺度上评估了鸟类群落组成的变异与栖息地特化（habitat specificity）程度。尽管该区域拥有大面积天然林栖息地（约5万公顷，ha），我们估算仍有超过40%的鸟类区系（bird fauna）已局部灭绝（extirpated），且大量证据表明狩猎是主要致因。体型较大（体长>20厘米）的鸟类中有52%已局部灭绝，且在大型鸟类中，栖息地广度与灭绝概率（extirpation probability）呈U型相关关系。区域内鸟类的栖息地特化程度普遍较低，鸟类群落以分布广泛、保护关注度有限的物种为主。我们认为，除非在现有保护区及更广的景观范围内投入更多精力解决狩猎问题，否则扩大热带保护区网络的举措恐难以实现预期的保护成效。