scholarly journals Agricultural land in the Amazon basin supports low bird diversity and is a poor replacement for primary forest

The Condor ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Montague H C Neate-Clegg ◽  
Çağan H Şekercioğlu
Keyword(s):  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
History Of ◽  
Matrix Habitats

Abstract The Amazon has a long history of disturbance under subsistence agriculture, but slash-and-burn agriculture is small in scale and has relatively low impact on resident avifauna. More recently, the Amazon has suffered extensive deforestation in favor of cattle ranching and other modern systems of agriculture. Cattle pastures, mechanized agriculture, and even tree plantations have detrimental effects on bird communities, greatly lowering diversity, especially that of primary forest interior specialists. A rising threat to the Amazon is the spread of oil palm plantations that retain few bird species and are not viable alternatives to forest. Embedded within the expanding agropastoral mosaic are forest fragments that have experienced a well-documented loss of diversity. Yet, the matrix can mitigate the recovery of fragmented bird communities depending on the type of secondary regrowth. Connectivity via matrix habitats or forest corridors is critical for the maintenance of forest avifauna. With so many types of land use developing across the Amazon, the “tropical countryside” has potential value for bird diversity. However, evidence suggests that the agropastoral mosaic harbors a small, more homogenized avifauna with few forest species, especially when primary forest is absent from the landscape. For the Amazon Basin’s bird life to be conserved into the future, preservation of large tracts of well-connected primary forest is vital. Tropical countryside dominated by agriculture simply cannot sustain sufficient levels of biodiversity.

scholarly journals Diversity and host assemblage of avian haemosporidians in different terrestrial ecoregions of Peru

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luz Garcia-Longoria ◽  
Jaime Muriel ◽  
Sergio Magallanes ◽  
Zaira Hellen Villa-Galarce ◽  
Leonila Ricopa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Host Community ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
New Host ◽  
Parasite Richness ◽  
Haemosporidian Parasites ◽  
Avian Haemosporidians ◽  
Host Parasite

Abstract Characterizing the diversity and structure of host-parasite communities is crucial to understanding their eco-evolutionary dynamics. Malaria and related haemosporidian parasites are responsible for fitness loss and mortality in bird species worldwide. However, despite exhibiting the greatest ornithological biodiversity, avian haemosporidians from Neotropical regions are quite unexplored. Here, we analyse the genetic diversity of bird haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in 1,336 individuals belonging to 206 bird species to explore for differences in diversity of parasite lineages and bird species across five well-differentiated Peruvian ecoregions. We detected 70 different haemosporidian lineages infecting 74 bird species. We showed that 25 out of the 70 haplotypes had not been previously recorded. Moreover, we also identified 81 new host – parasite interactions representing new host records for these haemosporidian parasites. Our outcomes revealed that the effective diversity (as well as the richness, abundance, and Shannon-Weaver index) for both birds and parasite lineages was higher in Amazon basin ecoregions. Furthermore, we also showed that ecoregions with greater diversity of bird species also had high parasite richness, hence suggesting that host community is crucial in explaining parasite richness. Generalist parasites were found in ecoregions with lower bird diversity, implying that the abundance and richness of hosts may shape the exploitation strategy followed by haemosporidian parasites. These outcomes reveal that Neotropical region is a major reservoir of unidentified haemosporidian lineages. Further studies analysing host distribution and specificity of these parasites in the tropics will provide important knowledge about phylogenetic relationships, phylogeography, and patterns of evolution and distribution of haemosporidian parasites.

scholarly journals Bird communities in a degraded forest biodiversity hotspot of East Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moses Mulwa ◽  
Mike Teucher ◽  
Werner Ulrich ◽  
Jan Christian Habel
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Tree Plantations ◽  
Agricultural Fields ◽  
Degraded Forest ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Small Forest

AbstractTropical forests suffer severe habitat destruction. Thus, tropical forests frequently consist today of only a few small remnants that are often embedded within a matrix of agricultural fields and tree plantations. Forest specialist species have experienced severe population declines under these circumstances. We studied bird communities based on census plots set up in a near-natural forest block, as well as degraded forest patches, tree plantations, and agricultural fields, across the Taita Hills in southern Kenya. We classified each bird species according its ecology and behavior. We quantified the land cover and landscape configuration around each census plot. Typical forest species were mainly observed in the near-natural forest block, and to a lower extent in degraded forest patches. Plantations were almost devoid of birds. Bird communities of small forest fragments were more similar to that of agricultural land than the near-natural forest block. Most frugivorous, insectivorous and nectarivorous birds occurred in forest habitats, while granivorous bird species dominated the bird communities of agricultural land. The surrounding landscape had a marginal impact on bird species composition at local sites. Our study showed that the preservation of near-natural cloud forest, including small forest patches, is essential for the conservation of forest-dependent species, and that plantations do not serve as surrogate habitats.

Spring Bird Community Structure in Response to Habitat Heterogeneity in a Subtropical Hilly Landscape

2014 ◽  
Vol 1010-1012 ◽  
pp. 121-125
Author(s):  
Wen Bin Li ◽  
Zhi Ming Mo ◽  
Xing Ting Chen ◽  
Chun Huang ◽  
Ming Feng Xu
Keyword(s):  
Indicator Species ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Indicator Species Analysis ◽  
Heterogeneous Habitats ◽  
Species Analysis ◽  
The Impact

To examine the impact of habitat heterogeneity on the bird communities, we investigated the structural differences of various bird communities occurring in heterogeneous habitats in the subtropical hilly areas of southern China. We used indicator Species Analysis (ISA) to test the association of specific bird species to particular habitats. We performed Two-way Cluster Analysis to find species patterning in response to habitat fragmentation. Our results demonstrated that heterogeneous habitats promoted bird diversity and human activities affected bird behavior. Indicator Species Analysis demonstrated that similar habitats had similar bird communities, while different habitats supported various bird indicator species. Although habitat diversity increased bird diversity of a region, it was unfavorable for the maintenance of specialized birds in the forests of the subtropical hilly area.

scholarly journals Bird communities in three forest types in the Pernambuco Centre of Endemism, Alagoas, Brazil

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lahert W. Lobo-Araújo ◽  
Mário T. F. Toledo ◽  
Márcio A. Efe ◽  
Ana C. M. Malhado ◽  
Marcos V. C. Vital ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Risk Of Extinction ◽  
Bird Fauna ◽  
Richness Patterns ◽  
Ombrophilous Forest

The Pernambuco Center of Endemism (PCE) in northeastern Brazil is highly fragmented and degraded. Despite its potential conservation importance the bird fauna in this area is still relatively unknown and there are many remnant fragments that have not been systematically surveyed. Here, we report the results of bird surveys in five forest fragments (one pioneer, two ombrophilous and two seasonal). In total, 162 taxa were recorded, 12 of which are endemic to the PCE. The frequency of endangered species was lower than what has been reported in studies from the same area and most of the taxa considered to be at risk of extinction were sub-species of uncertain taxonomic validity. The comparatively low number of endemic/threatened species may be due to the small size of the fragments in the present study - a consequence of the high levels of habitat loss in this region. Analysis of species richness patterns indicates that ombrophilous forest fragments are acting as refuges for those bird species that are most sensitive to environmental degradation.

scholarly journals Defaunation precipitates the extinction of evolutionarily distinct interactions in the Anthropocene

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. eaav6699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carine Emer ◽  
Mauro Galetti ◽  
Marco A. Pizo ◽  
Pedro Jordano ◽  
Miguel Verdú
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Rescue Effect ◽  
History Of ◽  
Local Extinctions ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Avian Seed Dispersal

Species on Earth are interconnected with each other through ecological interactions. Defaunation can erode those connections, yet we lack evolutionary predictions about the consequences of losing interactions in human-modified ecosystems. We quantified the fate of the evolutionary history of avian–seed dispersal interactions across tropical forest fragments by combining the evolutionary distinctness of the pairwise-partner species, a proxy to their unique functional features. Both large-seeded plant and large-bodied bird species showed the highest evolutionary distinctness. We estimate a loss of 3.5 to 4.7 × 104 million years of cumulative evolutionary history of interactions due to defaunation. Bird-driven local extinctions mainly erode the most evolutionarily distinct interactions. However, the persistence of less evolutionarily distinct bird species in defaunated areas exerts a phylogenetic rescue effect through seed dispersal of evolutionarily distinct plant species.

What is the avifauna of Amazonian white-sand vegetation?

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
SÉRGIO HENRIQUE BORGES ◽  
CINTIA CORNELIUS ◽  
CAMILA RIBAS ◽  
RICARDO ALMEIDA ◽  
EDSON GUILHERME ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Indicator Species ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
White Sand ◽  
Flooded Forests ◽  
Areas Of Endemism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Seasonally Flooded

SummaryWhite-sand vegetation (WSV) is a rare vegetation type in the Amazon basin that grows in nutrient impoverished sandy soils that occur as patches of variable size. Associated with this vegetation is bird assemblage that has not yet been fully characterized. Based on published species inventories and our own field data we compile a checklist of bird species recorded in WSV. In addition, we compared the avifauna of WSV with that found in savanna patches, another type of Amazonian open vegetation. WSV hosted a distinctive avifauna including endemic and threatened species. The number of bird species was lower in WSV compared to nearby terra firme forests, seasonally flooded forests and Amazonian savannas. Despite its low diversity, the avifauna of WSV has a distinctive species composition and makes a significant contribution to Amazonian beta diversity. At least 35 bird species can be considered as indicator species for this environment. Previously identified areas of endemism within the Amazon basin house at least one WSV indicator bird including cases of congeneric species with allopatric distributions. Seven of the WSV indicator species (20% of this avifauna) are in an IUCN threatened category, with one species Polioptila clementsi considered Critically Endangered. Their isolated distribution, small area occupied, and fragility to human-driven disturbances makes WSV one of the most threatened vegetation types in the Amazon basin. The study of WSV avifauna contributes to a better understanding of mechanisms that generate and maintain species diversity as well as of the environmental history of the most biologically diverse biome of the planet.

Dynamics of the bird communities in two fragments of Atlantic Forest in São Paulo, Brazil

Biologia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata M. Vianna ◽  
Reginaldo J. Donatelli ◽  
Raphael Whitacker ◽  
Rafael M. Martins ◽  
Guilherme Sementili-Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Wiener Diversity Index ◽  
Evenness Index

AbstractBirds can be used as bioindicators to evaluate the quality of a habitat. The objective of this study was to record richness and abundance of bird communities in two semi-deciduous forest fragments in Brazil (Olavo Egydio Setubal – OES; and Igurê – IGR). A subsequent analysis and comparison of the avifauna structure in each of the fragments were made including previous studies in the same areas. Point counts methodology was chosen for each fragment along 12 months. The results showed the occurrence of a total of 129 bird species for both areas. Although we registered 102 species for each site, Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou’s evenness index, respectively, were slightly higher in OES (

scholarly journals Conserving native trees increases native bird diversity and community composition on commercial office developments

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Dyson
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Bird Conservation ◽  
Tree Protection ◽  
Matrix Habitat ◽  
Site Use

Abstract In cities, woody vegetation provides critical shelter, nesting and foraging habitat for bird species of interest. Human actions—including development and landscaping choices—determine vegetation community composition and structure, making these choices critically important to urban bird conservation. A better understanding of how bird communities are impacted by parcel-scale actions can help guide policy and management best practices to improve matrix habitat quality and quantity. Here, I examined how bird habitat use varies along a vegetation gradient created by different development and landscaping choices. I surveyed 20 commercial office developments near Seattle in the Puget Trough region of Washington, USA selected using stratified random sampling, where I quantified bird communities and observed feeding behavior. I used GLMM and PERMANOVA models with data likelihood metrics to identify the best supported variables for bird site use, along with TITAN models to identify changes in community composition along environmental gradients. I found that measures of bird effective species richness and bird community are positively influenced by the presence of more native conifers, including the presence of a stand predating development and the height and density of native conifers. Measures of the native bird community are negatively influenced by higher non-native tree density. In contrast to prior research, top-down landscape-scale variables did not explain variation in measures of the bird community on office developments. Importantly, I found that birds are associated with the same habitat on office developments as observed elsewhere. Together, my findings suggest an important role for developers, land owners, landscape architects, and tree protection policy in bird conservation.

scholarly journals Respon Komunitas Burung terhadap Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Panas Bumi (PLTP) Kamojang, Bandung, Jawa Barat

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diyah Kartikasari ◽  
Satyawan Pudyatmoko ◽  
Novianto Bambang Wawandono ◽  
Pri Utami
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Species Number ◽  
Point Count ◽  
Geothermal Power Plant ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Geothermal Power

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui respon komunitas burung terhadap keberadaan Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Panas Bumi Kamojang. Kami membandingkan keanekaragaman dan kekayaan jenis burung pada lokasi yang terdampak (DL) dan tidak terdampak (TL) di Wilayah Kerja Panas Bumi Kamojang, Cagar Alam Kamojang dan Taman Wisata Alam Kamojang di Kabupaten Bandung Provinsi Jawa Barat. Lokasi yang terdampak berada di sekitar sumur produksi atau pembangkit listrik tenaga panas bumi (30 sampel) sedangkan lokasi yang tidak terdampak adalah dengan jarak 3.000 m sampai 9.000 m dari fasilitas tersebut (42 sampel). Pengumpulan data dilakukan selama dua musim; musim kemarau dan penghujan (2015-2016). Kami mengumpulkan data komunitas burung dan data habitat dengan metode point count yang ditempatkan secara sistematis di setiap lokasi. Kami menemukan 124 spesies burung yang terdiri dari 35 famili dan 16 spesies di antaranya adalah burung endemik di Pulau Jawa. Dua puluh tiga spesies dilindungi oleh undang-undang di Indonesia, sembilan spesies termasuk dalam daftar lampiran CITES dan lima spesies masuk dalam Daftar Merah Spesies Terancam IUCN tahun 2017. Terdapat perbedaan respon antara komunitas burung di lokasi terdampak dan tidak terdampak yang ditunjukkan dengan perbedaan rata-rata jumlah spesies, jumlah individu masing-masing spesies, indeks keanekaragaman ShannonWiener. Lokasi tidak terdampak memiliki nilai lebih tinggi pada parameter ini dibanding lokasi yang terkena dampak. Demikian juga, jumlah spesies, jumlah individu vegetasi dan indeks keanekaragaman hayati ShannonWiener pada lokasi TL memiliki nilai rata-rata lebih tinggi daripada lokasi DL. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa meskipun panas bumi dianggap sebagai energi ramah lingkungan namun dalam penggunaannya masih berdampak pada keanekaragaman hayati di sekitarnya terutama untuk jenis burung. Response of Bird Community to Kamojang Geothermal Power Plant, Bandung, West JavaAbstractThis study aimed to investigate the response of bird communities on the presence of geothermal power plant of Kamojang. We compared the bird diversity and richness of affected (DL) and not affected (TL) in Kamojang Geothermal Working Area, Kamojang Nature Reserve and Kamojang Nature Park in Bandung regency of West Java Province. The affected sites were surrounding production wells or geothermal power plants (30 samples) whereas not affected sites were with distance of 3,000 m to 9,000 m from those facilities (42 samples). The data collection was carried out during two seasons; dry and rainy season in (2015-2016). In each site, we collected bird community data and habitat data with the point count method which was placed systematically on each sites. We found 124 birds species belongs to 35 families with 16 endemic species in Java Island. Twenty three species are protected by Indonesian law, with nine species are in the CITES appendix list and five species are listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of 2017. There was a difference of responses between bird communities in the affected and not affected sites which is indicated by differences in the mean number of species, number of individuals in each species, and Shannon-Wiener's diversity index. The not affected sites had higher value on these parameters than the affected sites. Similarly, number of species, number of individual vegetation, and Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index in TL sites had higher mean values than DL sites. This proves that although geothermal is considered as environmentally friendly energy but in its utilization it still has an impact on the surrounding biodiversity especially for bird species.

scholarly journals Big Bird Plots: Benchmarking Neotropical Bird Communities to Address Questions in Ecology and Conservation in an Era of Rapid Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Douglas Robinson ◽  
Dan Errichetti ◽  
Henry S. Pollock ◽  
Ari Martinez ◽  
Philip C Stouffer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Large Network ◽  
Bird Abundance

Extensive networks of large plots have the potential to transform knowledge of avian community dynamics through time and across geographical space. In the Neotropics, the global hotspot of avian diversity, only six 100-ha plots, all located in lowland forests of Amazonia, the Guianan shield and Panama, have been inventoried sufficiently. We review the most important lessons learned about Neotropical forest bird communities from those big bird plots and explore opportunities for creating a more extensive network of additional plots to address questions in ecology and conservation, following the model of the existing ForestGEO network of tree plots. Scholarly impact of the big bird plot papers has been extensive, with the papers accumulating nearly 1,500 citations, particularly on topics of tropical ecology, avian conservation, and community organization. Comparisons of results from the plot surveys show no single methodological scheme works effectively for surveying abundances of all bird species at all sites; multiple approaches have been utilized and must be employed in the future. On the existing plots, abundance patterns varied substantially between the South American plots and the Central American one, suggesting different community structuring mechanisms are at work and that additional sampling across geographic space is needed. Total bird abundance in Panama, dominated by small insectivores, was double that of Amazonia and the Guianan plateau, which were dominated by large granivores and frugivores. The most common species in Panama were three times more abundant than those in Amazonia, whereas overall richness was 1.5 times greater in Amazonia. Despite these differences in community structure, other basic information, including uncertainty in population density estimates, has yet to be quantified. Results from existing plots may inform drivers of differences in community structure and create baselines for detection of long-term regional changes in bird abundances, but supplementation of the small number of plots is needed to increase generalizability of results and reveal the texture of geographic variation. We propose fruitful avenues of future research based on our current synthesis of the big bird plots. Collaborating with the large network of ForestGEO tree plots could be one approach to improve understanding of linkages between plant and bird diversity. Careful quantification of bird survey effort, recording of exact locations of survey routes or stations, and archiving detailed metadata will greatly enhance the value of benchmark data for future repeat surveys of the existing plots and initial surveys of newly established plots.

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