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).