Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Human disturbance has fragmented tropical landscapes all over the world deceasing biodiversity and sustainable growth. Costa Rica has been a leader in the response of restoration practices and policies aimed to counter this disturbance. The main conservation strategies in place are National Parks, eco-lodges, research stations and incentive programs or payments for ecosystem services (PES) but it is uncertain how these strategies affect restoration, forest structure and species distribution and density. Comparing the influence that different policies and conservation strategies have on forest structure and species composition, especially indicator species, will inform planners and researchers on best practices and restoration strategies. This study measures primate and bat species presence and density, and forest structure composition (e.g. canopy cover, tree height, average seedlings/m2, saplings/m2, total DBH, or average DBH). The conservation strategy was identified for each site as national park (NP), ecotourism (ET), research station (RS), participating in the Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), and other (O) was used if no conservation strategy was being used. A multilevel model was used to correct for differences in area and study site location. Primates are indicator species for forest health and are important ecosystem engineers responsible for seed dispersal. Primate richness used to understand how these strategies are influencing primate’s success. Bats are also important seed dispersers and pollinators, using two passive acoustic recorders it was possible to determine species richness and assemblage across land use types and between forest fragments and disturbed areas.