Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T23:18:00.232Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nocturnal bird diversity in forest fragments in north-west Ecuador

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2017

Scott T. Walter Open the ORCID record for Scott T. Walter [Opens in a new window] ,
Luke Browne ,
Juan Freile ,
Nelson González ,
Julio Loor ,
Michael Darkes ,
Thomas W. Gillespie  and
Jordan Karubian
Scott T. Walter
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118, USA Current address: Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
Luke Browne
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118, USA Foundation for the Conservation of the Tropical Andes, Quito, Ecuador UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Juan Freile
Affiliation:
Comité Ecuatoriano de Registros Ornitológicos, Casilla Postal 17-12-122, Quito, Ecuador
Nelson González
Affiliation:
Foundation for the Conservation of the Tropical Andes, Quito, Ecuador
Julio Loor
Affiliation:
Foundation for the Conservation of the Tropical Andes, Quito, Ecuador
Michael Darkes
Affiliation:
The University of Manchester, Faculty of Life Sciences, Carys Bannister Building, Dover Street, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Thomas W. Gillespie
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of California – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Jordan Karubian*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118, USA Foundation for the Conservation of the Tropical Andes, Quito, Ecuador
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Habitat preferences and response to habitat conversion remain under-studied for many groups in the tropics, limiting our understanding of how environmental and anthropogenic factors may interact to shape patterns of diversity. To help fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed nocturnal birds such as owls, nightjars and potoos through auditory transect surveys in 22 forest fragments (2.7 to 33.6 ha) in north-west Ecuador. We assessed the relative effect of habitat characteristics (e.g. canopy height and openness, and density of large trees) and fragment attributes (e.g. area, altitude and proportion of surrounding forest cover) on species richness and community composition. Based on our previous work, we predicted that nocturnal bird richness would be highest in relatively larger fragments with more surrounding forest cover. We recorded 11 total species with an average ± SD of 3.4 ± 1.4 (range = 2–7) species per fragment, with higher richness in fragments that were larger, at lower altitudes, and characterized by more open canopies. Nocturnal bird community similarity was not significantly correlated with any measured environmental variable. These results indicate that both landscape (e.g. altitude) and fragment-specific (e.g. size, forest structure) attributes are likely to interact to shape patterns of diversity among this poorly known but ecologically important guild in fragmented tropical landscapes.

Keywords

forest fragmentslandscapeNeotropicsnightjarsnocturnal birdsowls
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 33 , Issue 6 , November 2017 , pp. 357 - 364
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

BLAKE, J. G. & LOISELLE, B. A. 2000. Diversity of birds along an elevational gradient in the Cordillera Central, Costa Rica. Auk 117:663–686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BROWN, N., JENNINGS, S., WHEELER, P. & NABE-NIELSEN, J. 2000. An improved method for the rapid assessment of forest understory light environments. Journal of Applied Ecology 37:1044–1053.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BROWNE, L. & KARUBIAN, J. 2016. Diversity of palm communities at different spatial scales in a recently fragmented tropical landscape. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 182:451–464.Google Scholar
BURNHAM, K. P. & ANDERSON, D. R. 2002. Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. Springer Science and Business Media, New York. 488 pp.Google Scholar
CARDOSO DA SILVA, J. M., UHL, C. & MURRAY, G. 1996. Plant succession, landscape management, and the ecology of frugivorous birds in abandoned Amazonian pastures. Conservation Biology 10:491–503.Google Scholar
CARRASCO, L., COOK, A. & KARUBIAN, J. 2008. Extensión del rango de distribución de ocho especies de aves en las montañas de Mache-Chindul, Ecuador. Cotinga 29:72–76.Google Scholar
CARRASCO, L., BERG, K. S., LITZ, J., COOK, A. & KARUBIAN, J. 2013. Avifauna of the Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve, north-west Ecuador. Ornitología Neotropical 24:321–334.Google Scholar
CARVAJAL, A. & ADLER, G. H. 2008. Seed dispersal and predation by Proechimys semispinosus and Sciurus granatensis in gaps and understorey in central Panama. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24:485–492.Google Scholar
DURÃES, R., CARRASCO, L., SMITH, T. B. & KARUBIAN, J. 2013. Effects of forest disturbance and habitat loss on avian communities in a Neotropical biodiversity hotspot. Biological Conservation 166:203–211.Google Scholar
ENRÍQUEZ, P. L., EISERMANN, K. & MIKKOLA, H. 2012. Los búhos de México y Centroamérica: necesidades en investigación y conservación. Ornitología Neotropical 23:247–260.Google Scholar
ESCLARSKI, P. & CINTRA, R. 2014. Effects of terra firme-forest structure on habitat use of owls (Aves: Strigiformes) in central Brazilian Amazonia. Ornitología Neotropical 25:433–458.Google Scholar
ESTRADA, A. & BOYLA, K. A. 2005. Áreas importantes para la conservación de las aves en los Andes tropicales: sitios prioritarios para la conservación de la biodiversidad. Birdlife International, Quito. 769 pp.Google Scholar
EWERS, R. M. & DIDHAM, R. K. 2006. Confounding factors in the detection of species responses to habitat fragmentation. Biological Review 81:117–142.Google Scholar
FREILE, J. F. & CASTRO, D. F. 2013. New records of rare screech owls (Megascops) and pygmy owls (Glaucidium), with taxonomic notes and a conservation assessment of two globally imperiled species in Ecuador. Cotinga 35:7–12.Google Scholar
FREILE, J. F., CASTRO, D. F. & VARELA, S. 2012. Estado del conocimiento, distribución y conservación de aves rapaces nocturnas en Ecuador. Ornitología Neotropical 23:235–244.Google Scholar
FREILE, J. F., GUEVARA, E., PACHECO, C. & SANTANDER, T. 2015. Los búhos de Ecuador. Pp. 333–353 in Enríquez, P. L. (ed.). Los búhos neotropicales: diversidad y conservación. ECOSUR, San Cristóbal De Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.Google Scholar
GRAY, M. A., BALDAUF, S. L., MAYHEW, P. J. & HILL, J. K. 2007. The response of avian feeding guilds to tropical forest disturbance. Conservation Biology 21:133–141.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
GRUEBER, C. E., NAKAGAWA, S., LAWS, R. J. & JAMIESON, I. G. 2011. Multimodel inference in ecology and evolution: challenges and solutions. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24:699–711.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
HALAJ, J., ROSS, D. W. & MOLDENKE, A. R. 2000. Importance of habitat structure to the arthropod food-web in Douglas-fir canopies. Oikos 90:139–152.Google Scholar
HANSEN, M. C., POTAPOV, P. V., MOORE, R., HANCHER, M., TURUBANOVA, S. A., TYUKAVINA, A., THAU, D., STEHMAN, S. V., GOETZ, S. J., LOVELAND, T. R., KOMMAREDDY, A., EGOROV, A., CHINI, L., JUSTICE, C. O. & TOWNSHEND, J. R. G. 2013. High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science 342:850–853.Google Scholar
HUBBELL, S. P., FOSTER, R. B., O'BRIEN, S. T., HARMS, K. E., CONDIT, R., WECHSLER, B., WRIGHT, S. J. & LOO DE LAO, S. 1999. Light-gap disturbances, recruitment limitation, and tree diversity in a Neotropical forest. Science 283:554–557.Google Scholar
IBÁÑEZ, C., RAMO, C. & BUSTO, B. 1992. Notes on food habits of the Black and White Owl. Condor 94:529–531.Google Scholar
IBARRA, J. T., MARTIN, K., ALTAMIRANO, T. A., VARGAS, F. H. & BONACIC, C. 2014. Factors associated with the detectability of owls in South American temperate forests: implications for nocturnal raptor monitoring. Journal of Wildlife Management 78:1078– 1086.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JAHN, O. 2011. Bird communities of the Ecuadorian Chocó: a case study in conservation. Bonn Zoological Monograph 56:1–514.Google Scholar
JANES, S. W. 1994. Variation in the species composition and mean body size of an avian foliage-gleaning guild along an elevational gradient: correlation with arthropod size. Oecologia 98:369–378.Google Scholar
KANEGAE, M. F., CAMACHO, I., FERNANDES, B. C., DOS SANTOS HONORATO, R., DE SOUZA FILHO, C. & VIEIRA, M. V. 2012. Ocorrência de murucututu-de-barriga-amarela (Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana) em fragmentos florestais no estado do Rio de Janeiro. 2012. Ornitología Neotropical 23:499–505.Google Scholar
LAMBERT, T. D. & ADLER, G. H. 2000. Microhabitat use by a tropical forest rodent, Proechimys semispinosus, in central Panama. Journal of Mammalogy 81:70–76.Google Scholar
LAMBERT, T. D., MALCOM, J. R. & ZIMMERMAN, B. L. 2006. Amazonian small mammal abundances in relation to habitat structure and resource abundance. Journal of Mammalogy 87:766–776.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LAURANCE, W. F., LOVEJOY, T. E., VASCONCELOS, H. L., BRUNA, E. M., DIDHAM, R. K., STOUFFER, P. C., GASCON, C., BIERREGAARD, R. O., LAURANCE, S. G. & SAMPAIO, E. 2002. Ecosystem decay of Amazonian forest fragments: a 22-year investigation. Conservation Biology 16:605–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LEVEY, D. J., BOLKER, B. M., TEWKSBURY, J. J., SARGENT, S. & HADDAD, N. M. 2005. Effects of landscape corridors on seed dispersal by birds. Science 309:146–148.Google Scholar
LLOYD, H. 2003. Population densities of some nocturnal raptor species (Strigidae) in southeastern Peru. Journal of Field Ornithology 74:376–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MAGRACH, A., LAURANCE, W. F., LARRINAGA, A. R. & SANTAMARIA, L. 2014. Meta-analysis of the effects of forest fragmentation on interspecific interactions. Conservation Biology 28:1342–1348.Google Scholar
MARINI, M. Â. 2001. Effects of forest fragmentation on birds of the cerrado region, Brazil. Bird Conservation International 11:13–25.Google Scholar
MOORE, J. V., KRABBE, N. & JAHN, O. 2013. Bird sounds of Ecuador, a comprehensive collection. John V. Moore Nature Recordings, San Jose. Digital optical disc.Google Scholar
MOTTA-JUNIOR, J. C. 2006. Relações tróficas entre cinco Strigiformes simpátricas na região central do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 14:359–377.Google Scholar
OCHOA, J. G. 2000. Efectos de la extracción de maderas sobre la diversidad de mamíferos pequeños en bosques de tierras bajas de la Guayana Venezolana. Biotropica 32:146–164.Google Scholar
ORME, C. D. L., DAVIES, R. G., BURGESS, M., EIGENBROD, F., PICKUP, N., OLSON, V. A., WEBSTER, A. J., DING, T. S., RASMUSSEN, P. C., RIDGELY, R. S., STATTERSFIELD, A. J., BENNETT, P. M., BLACKBURN, T. M., GASTON, K. J. & OWENS, I. P. F. 2005. Global hotspots of species richness are not congruent with endemism or threat. Nature 436:1016–1019.Google Scholar
ORTIZ-PULIDO, R. & LARA, C. 2014. Owls in oak and pine forests in La Malinche National Park, Mexico. Ornitología Neotropical 25:345–353.Google Scholar
PENTERIANI, V., DELGADO, M. M., CAMPIONI, L. & LOURENÇO, R. 2010. Moonlight makes owls more chatty. PLoS ONE 5:e8696.Google Scholar
PREVEDELLO, J. A. & VIEIRA, M. V. 2010. Does the type of matrix matter? A quantitative review of the evidence. Biodiversity Conservation 19:1205–1223.Google Scholar
RIBON, R., SIMON, J. E. & DE MATTOS, G. T. 2003. Bird extinctions in Atlantic forest fragments of the Viçosa Region, southeastern Brazil. Conservation Biology 17:1827–1839.Google Scholar
RIDGELY, R. S. & GREENFIELD, P. J. 2006. Aves del Ecuador: guía del Campo. Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco, Quito. 812 pp.Google Scholar
ROLSTAD, J. 1991. Consequences of forest fragmentation for the dynamics of bird populations: conceptual issues and the evidence. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 42:149–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SBERZE, M., COHN-HAFT, M. & FERRAZ, G. 2010. Old growth and secondary forest site occupancy by nocturnal birds in a Neotropical landscape. Animal Conservation 13:3–11.Google Scholar
SCHIELZETH, H. 2010. Simple means to improve the interpretability of regression coefficients. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 1:103–113.Google Scholar
SEKERCIOGLU, C. H. 2010. The mystery of nocturnal birds in tropical secondary forests. Animal Conservation 13:12–13.Google Scholar
SIGEL, B. J., SHERRY, T. W. & YOUNG, B. E. 2006. Avian community response to lowland tropical rainforest isolation: 40 years of change at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. Conservation Biology 20:111–121.Google Scholar
SKOLE, D. & TUCKER, C. 1993. Tropical deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the Amazon: satellite data from 1978 to 1988. Science 260:1905–1910.Google Scholar
SYMONDS, M. R. E. & MOUSSALLI, A. 2011. A brief guide to model selection, multimodel inference and model averaging in behavioural ecology using Akaike's information criterion. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65:13–21.Google Scholar
TEWS, J., BROSE, U., GRIMM, V., TIELBÖRGER, K., WICHMANN, M. C., SCHWAGER, M. & JELTSCH, F. 2004. Animal species diversity driven by habitat heterogeneity/diversity: the importance of keystone structures. Journal of Biogeography 31:79–92.Google Scholar
THORNTON, D. H., BRANCH, L. C. & SUNQUIST, M. E. 2011. The influence of landscape, patch, and within-patch factors on species presence and abundance: a review of focal patch studies. Landscape Ecology 26:7–18.Google Scholar
VÁZQUEZ-PÉREZ, P., ENRÍQUEZ, L., RANGEL-SALAZAR, J. L. & CASTILLO, M. A. 2011. Desidad y uso de habitat de búhos en la Reserva de la Biosfera Selva El Ocote, Chiapas, sur de México. Ornitología Neotropical 22:577–587.Google Scholar
WALTER, S. T. & MAGUIRE, C. C. 2004. Conifer response to three silvicultural treatments in the Oregon Coast Range Foothills. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 34:1967–1978.Google Scholar
WALTER, S. T. & MAGUIRE, C. C. 2005. Snags, cavity-nesting birds, and silvicultural treatments in western Oregon. Journal of Wildlife Management 69:1578–1591.Google Scholar
WALTER, S. T., BROWNE, L., FREILE, J., OLIVO, J., GONZÁLEZ, M. & KARUBIAN, J. 2017. Landscape-level tree cover predicts species richness of large-bodied frugivorous birds in forest fragments. Biotropica 49:838–847.Google Scholar
ZUUR, A. F., IENO, E. N. & SMITH, G. M. 2007. Analysing ecological data. Springer Science and Business Media, New York. 648 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ZUUR, A. F., IENO, E. N. & ELPHICK, C. S. 2010. A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 1:3–14.Google Scholar