The rainforests of the congo basin are being lost at an accelerating rate, resulting in habitat degradation, loss of biodiversity, and impoverishment of ecosystem services. Recovery and restoration of…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded a $619,840 grant to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) through its Office of Research Administration. This grant is for research investigating how the movements of seed-dispersing animals, such as birds, bats, primates, and antelopes, are influenced by the structure and phenology of rainforest vegetation in the Congo Basin. By leveraging NASA satellite data on vegetation 3D structure, phenology, and canopy functional traits, along with conventional medium and high-resolution optical satellite data, the research aims to better understand the dynamics necessary for rainforest restoration and biodiversity conservation. The grant has a performance period ending on May 27, 2025 and does not have a set-aside designation. UCLA, as the prime grantee, will conduct the research from its facilities in Los Angeles, California.

The rainforests of the congo basin are being lost at an accelerating rate, resulting in habitat degradation, loss of biodiversity, and impoverishment of ecosystem services. Recovery and restoration of the forests depends on the presence and movement of animals responsible for dispersing seeds of trees. Yet, our understanding of how vegetation structure influences the movements of seed dispersing animals is poorly understood. Here, we propose to investigate how forest structure and phenology influence the movements of seed-dispersing animal species, and hence rainforest health and recovery from anthropogenic disturbance. By leveraging international space station (ISS) sensors focused on vegetation 3D structure (gedi), phenology and canopy functional traits (desis, ecostress) in combination with conventional medium-resolution optical satellite data (landsat, sentinel), and high resolution lidar data, we provide a methodology to link detailed variation and changes in forest structure, phenology, and animal movements and habitat characteristics to better understand the dynamics necessary for rainforest restoration and biodiversity intactness. This proposal responds to the NASA biodiversity call with the overarching goals to: 1) understand how movements of seed-dispersing taxa with contrasting life histories, morphologies, behaviors and home ranges are shaped by vegetation structure and phenology and 2) explore the possible feedback loops between seed dispersal by vertebrates and forest structure and diversity, and 3) examine how forest fragmentation and disturbance influence seed dispersal by vertebrates and forest recovery. We focus on four classes of seed-dispersing taxa across a gradient of intact to degraded forests to address the following questions: 1. How do movements of key seed-dispersing animals (birds, bats, primates and antelopes) vary with 3D forest structure at local and landscape scales? 2. How are habitat selection and movements of different seed-dispersers influenced by variation in vegetation phenology and fruiting? 3. How does forest fragmentation due to anthropogenic disturbances influence animal movements and patterns of seed-dispersal?