Abstract Macroecological analyses capture the widespread nature of wild mammal range contractions and population declines globally, with Neotropical rainforests particularly vulnerable. Yet there is a paucity of basic population biology data capturing local empirically observed population changes. We generated species-specific and aggregated temporal trends in populations of terrestrial mammals in Cusuco National Park, north-west Honduras testing the effects of body-size, hunting and zonal protection measures. Hunted species, regardless of body size, exhibited declines (ca. -7% per year) with greater rapidity of decline in the park’s more accessible and less rigorously protected buffer zone. The site was once regarded as a remaining strong of Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii), IUCN Red Listed as Endangered, but our data suggest its near local extirpation from monitored sites. Hunted deer (Mazama temama and Odocoileus virginianus) and paca (Cuniculus paca) also declined substantially. Whilst species-specific trends varied among unhunted species (e.g. wild cats, mustelids etc.) they, nevertheless, also exhibited an aggregated decline throughout the park (ca. -6% per year). Such was the rapidity of these declines that we estimate substaintial mammalian defaunation of Cusuco National Park by the mid-2020s leaving a notionally highly protected area mostly devoid of terrestrial mammals and the associated ecosystem services they deliver (so-called ‘empty forest syndrome’). We call on Governments and non-governmental organizations including conservation charities to prioritize urgent efforts to secure funding and personnel to ensure designated areas are adequately protected with enforcement of existing legislative protection whether through patrols or capacity building to efficiently curtail ongoing defaunation.

中文翻译：

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受保护的新热带云雾林遗迹中陆生哺乳动物的快速动物区系灭绝

摘要 宏观生态学分析捕捉了全球野生哺乳动物分布范围缩小和人口减少的普遍性质，其中新热带雨林特别脆弱。然而，缺乏基本的人口生物学数据来捕捉当地经验观察到的人口变化。我们在洪都拉斯西北部库苏科国家公园的陆生哺乳动物种群中生成了特定物种和汇总的时间趋势，以测试体型、狩猎和区域保护措施的影响。被猎杀的物种，无论体型大小，都呈现出下降趋势（每年约 -7%），并且在公园更容易进入且保护程度较低的缓冲区中下降速度更快。该地点曾被认为是贝尔德貘 (Tapirus bairdii) 的剩余强者，被 IUCN 红色列为濒危物种，但我们的数据表明，它几乎是从受监控地点本地灭绝的。被猎杀的鹿（Mazama temama 和 Odocoileus virginianus）和美洲豹（Cuniculus paca）也大幅下降。虽然未捕杀的物种（例如野猫、鼬科动物等）的物种特定趋势各不相同，但它们也表现出整个公园的总体下降趋势（每年约 -6%）。这些下降的速度如此之快，以至于我们估计到 2020 年代中期库苏科国家公园的哺乳动物动物区系基本消失，从而留下一个理论上高度保护区，几乎没有陆地哺乳动物及其提供的相关生态系统服务（所谓的“空林综合症”） .