Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
are dominated by pioneers may face future biodiversity loss. We believe it would
be beneficial for future research to 1) validate and assess the generality of both
the patterns and the underlying mechanisms observed here and 2) address more
ecosystem level effects driven by reduced functional diversity in fragmented land-
scapes, such as changes in biodiversity persistence, primary productivity, nutrient
cycling, succession, and ecosystem resilience.
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Alexandre Grillo and Marcondes Oliveira (UFPE-Brazil)
for their immeasurable cooperation and for permitting us to use data from their
botanical surveys; Luís Antônio Bezerra and Clodoaldo Bakker for permitting this
research on the private property of the Usina Serra Grande; Carlos Peres (Univer-
sity of East Anglia-England) for discussions and help with analyses; André Santos
(UFPE-Brazil) and Antônio Aguiar-Neto (UF-USA) for discussions and help in
several phases of this study; Jérôme Chave (Academic Editor) and an anonymous
reviewer for valuable suggestions on the manuscript.
Authors' Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: AL MT. Performed the experiments:
AL LG. Analyzed the data: AL LG MT EB. Wrote the paper: AL LG MT EB.
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