Mr Tom Bradfer-Lawrence

PhD Project. Over the last century much of the tropical forest biome has been converted to complex human-modified landscapes composed of degraded primary forest fragments, secondary forest, pasture and agricultural land. In contrast, less than 10% of the tropical forest biome is protected within strict reserves. Consequently, the long-term conservation of tropical forest biodiversity is increasingly dependent on whether human-modified landscapes can support viable populations of primary forest species, and the extent to which landscape dynamics alter key species interactions, such as seed dispersal. Species respond very differently to disturbance and this response tends to be mediated by life-history and morphological traits (for example, feeding guild and beak morphology). Using life-history traits to describe species will enable us to make more general statements about which species are most at risk from disturbance, and which are capable of persisting in human-modified landscapes. This work is based in two landscapes in central Panama with contrasting forest cover and disturbance patterns.