10. Bird Communities in Logged and Unlogged African Forests: Lessons from Uganda and Beyond

2001 ◽  
pp. 213-238 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bird Communities

Functional evenness of bird communities varies along the elevational gradient in Europe: Conservation implications

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Morelli ◽  
Yanina
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Large Spatial Scale ◽  
Functional Evenness

ContextThe negative association between elevation and species richness is a well-recognized pattern in macro-ecology. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate changes in functional evenness of breeding bird communities along an elevation gradient in Europe. MethodsUsing the bird data from the EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds we estimated an index of functional evenness which can be assumed as a measure of the potential resilience of communities.ResultsOur findings confirm the existence of a negative association between elevation and bird species richness in all European eco regions. However, we also explored a novel aspect of this relationship, important for conservation: Our findings provide evidence at large spatial scale of a negative association between the functional evenness (potential community resilience) and elevation, independent of the eco region. We also found that the Natura2000 protected areas covers the territory most in need of protection, those characterized by bird communities with low potential resilience, in hilly and mountainous areas.ConclusionsThese results draw attention to European areas occupied by bird communities characterized by a potential lower capacity to respond to strong ecological changes, and, therefore, potentially more exposed to risks for conservation.

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.

Blood parasites of bird communities in Sri Lanka and their mosquito vectors

2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 693-703
Author(s):  
W. G. D. Chathuranga ◽  
B. R. Fernando ◽  
T. C. Weereratne ◽  
S. H. P. P. Karunaratne ◽  
W. A. Priyanka P. De Silva
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Mosquito Vectors

Do vegetal communities dominated by invasive exotic plant species affect the structure of bird communities in an Atlantic Forest area?

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-249
Author(s):  
Cleverton da Silva ◽  
Arleu Barbosa Viana-Junior ◽  
Cristiano Schetini de Azevedo ◽  
Juliano Ricardo Fabricante
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Forest Area ◽  
Exotic Plant ◽  
Exotic Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Exotic

scholarly journals The impact of Sosnowsky’s Hogweed on feeding guilds of birds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Grzędzicka ◽  
Jiří Reif
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Feeding Guilds ◽  
Guild Structure ◽  
Feeding Guild ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact

AbstractPlant invasions alter bird community composition worldwide, but the underlying mechanisms still require exploration. The investigation of feeding guild structure of bird communities can be informative in respect to the potential impact of invasion features on the availability of food for birds. For this purpose, we focused on determining the influence of the invasive Sosnowsky’s Hogweed Heracleum sosnowskyi on the abundance of birds from various feeding guilds. In spring and summer 2019, birds were counted three times on 52 pairs of sites (control + Heracleum) in southern Poland, at various stages of Sosnowsky’s Hogweed development (i.e. sprouting, full growth and flowering, all corresponding to respective bird counts). We have shown that the presence of invader negatively affected the abundance of birds from all feeding guilds. However, a closer examination of the invaded sites uncovered that responses of particular guilds differed in respect to development stages expressed by a set of characteristics of the invader. Ground and herb insectivores were more common on plots with a higher number of the invader, while the abundance of bush and tree insectivores was negatively correlated with hogweeds’ height. Granivores were not affected by the invader’s features, while the abundance of omnivores was negatively related to the number of flowering hogweeds. Besides showing the general negative impact of the invader on different feeding guilds, our research has shown that certain aspects of Sosnowsky’s Hogweed invasion may support or depress occurrence of different birds on invaded plots. Knowledge of these aspects may facilitate our capacity for coping with challenges the invasive plants put in front of bird conservationists.

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