Data from: Human disturbance impacts on rainforest mammals are most notable in the canopy; especially for larger-bodied species

Aim: Community-level assessments of how biodiversity responds to
disturbance within forest habitats are often biased towards
terrestrial-based surveys. However, recent research suggests that arboreal
communities of several indicator groups (ants, amphibians, beetles and
butterflies) are more susceptible to human disturbance than their
terrestrial counterparts; but what about wildlife at higher trophic
levels? We assess responses to disturbance, from forest floor to canopy,
of a key conservation flagship group: medium to large rainforest mammals.
Location: The Manu Biosphere Reserve, southeast Peru. Methods: We deploy
both arboreal and terrestrial camera traps, to directly compare the
response of arboreal and terrestrial mammal communities to rainforest
degradation and disturbance. Results: We show that the arboreal mammal
community is more susceptible to habitat disturbance than the terrestrial
community. Furthermore, the largest-bodied arboreal species, which are
major seed dispersers, showed the greatest negative response to forest
disturbance. The strongest predictors of occupancy probability for
arboreal communities were focal tree connectivity and canopy cover,
whereas surrounding forest loss and canopy height were there strongest
predictors of terrestrial community occupancy; although these also had
effects similar in size and magnitude on the arboreal community. Main
conclusions: Conservation conclusions drawn from camera-based studies
focused on the terrestrial realm likely underestimate the impact of
rainforest degradation to arboreal communities and on arboreal rainforest
biodiversity in general. We highlight the importance of developing
arboreal research methods, capable of investigating conservation
implications of anthropogenic disturbance across all vertical strata, for
accurate conservation assessments and improving rainforest management and
restoration strategies.