3.5 Effect of rainfall on species abundance along a degradation
gradient
A linear regression analysis revealed that species abundance was not
significantly influenced by rain with an R2 = 0.003.
However, cross correlation graphs for species abundance and rainfall
along the degradation gradient revealed some relationships and patterns,
with species abundance in adjacent habitats and degraded forest edge
showing a strong correlation with rainfall. While in primary forest
interior the correlation was weak (Fig 5). Further analyses to assess
how the most abundant species in the forest and adjacent habitats
fluctuate with rainfall revealed that forest species abundance is not
influenced by rain as compared to those outside the forest (Fig 6).