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Habitat loss of a rainforest specialist pollinator fly as an indicator of conservation status of the South American Temperate Rainforests

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Abstract

We estimate habitat loss and fragmentation in a hoverfly, Aneriophora aureorufa, used as a representative forest specialist species. This species is a pollinator specialist of two native trees, forming a triad endemic to the South American Temperate Rainforest (SATR). We combine species distribution models with species-specific requirements to estimate the habitat range of A. aureorufa over two non-overlapping time periods (before human settlement to 2000, and from 2000 to 2014). We analyzed the predicted distribution range of A. aureorufa in Chile, quantifying habitat loss in both periods and fragmentation in the latter. In addition, we evaluated the representativeness of the Chilean protected areas system in relation to the current habitat of the species. We found that the total habitat of A. aureorufa decreased by 68.3% compared to historic pre-settlement levels; in the period 2000–2014 the loss was 4.9%. The northern zone was the most affected by habitat loss and fragmentation, with an estimated total loss of 89.9% from the historic period to 2014, with the loss of 238.2 km2 per year between 2000 and 2014. Eighteen percent of the habitat of A. aureorufa occurs within protected areas. We found an overrepresentation in the southern zone (24.79%) and an underrepresentation in the northern zone (3.44%). We propose that forest specialist species of the northern zone of the SATR could be threatened due to the high pressure of habitat loss and the underrepresentation of the Chilean protected areas systems.

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Acknowledgements

We thank numerous assistants who collaborated with us in recording field data. The English of the manuscript was edited by Susan Angus. C.S.R thanks to Grants PFB-23 (CONICYT, Chile) and Millennium Scientific initiative, grant P05-002, both from the Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Estudios en Ecología Espacial y Medio Ambiente– Ecogeografía, Santiago, Chile

    Alberto J. Alaniz & Mario A. Carvajal

  2. Laboratorio de Ecología de Ecosistemas, Departamento de Recursos Naturales Renovables, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Alberto J. Alaniz

  3. Citizen Science Project Moscas Florícolas de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Alberto J. Alaniz, Mario A. Carvajal & Rodrigo M. Barahona-Segovia

  4. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno, Chile

    Cecilia Smith-Ramírez

  5. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad-Chile (IEB), Santiago, Chile

    Cecilia Smith-Ramírez

  6. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Cecilia Smith-Ramírez

  7. Laboratorio de Ecología de Ambientes Fragmentados, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Animales, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Rodrigo M. Barahona-Segovia

  8. Laboratorio de Ecofisiología de Invertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Rodrigo M. Barahona-Segovia

  9. Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de la Frontera, Temuco, Chile

    Lorena Vieli

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  1. Alberto J. Alaniz
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Alaniz, A.J., Carvajal, M.A., Smith-Ramírez, C. et al. Habitat loss of a rainforest specialist pollinator fly as an indicator of conservation status of the South American Temperate Rainforests. J Insect Conserv 22, 745–755 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-018-0098-0

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