scholarly journals Monitoring of Kilum-Ijim forest bird communities: initial findings

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip F. Forboseh ◽  
Ernest C. Keming ◽  
Clement L. Toh ◽  
Innocent N. B. Wultof

The Kilum-Ijim forest is an excellent example of the ornithological riches of the Cameroon montane forest biome. The forest is also important to over 200,000 people who exert enormous pressure on the ecosystem. In 1995, the Kilum-Ijim Forest Project began systematic monitoring of birds, with the intention of using them as indicators of the overall condition of the forest, as well as monitoring the status of individual species. Analyses of data collected in 1999–2000 demonstrated some clear differences in habitat use, suggesting suites of bird species may be indicators of changes in vegetation. However, beyond this, little is known about the response of birds to habitat modifications, or the relationship between bird abundance and diversity of other organisms at Kilum-Ijim. It is argued that the objective of assessing changes in vegetation could be more satisfactorily pursued through direct measurement of structural changes in habitats. We highlight the necessity for a shift in the programme objectives to place greater emphasis on monitoring endemic and threatened bird species for their own status and on assessing changes in the bird community as a function of changes in the vegetation.

2016 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAURICIO N. GODOI ◽  
FRANCO L. SOUZA ◽  
RUDI R. LAPS ◽  
DANILO B. RIBEIRO

ABSTRACT The informations of bird species distribution in different habitats and the structure of their communities are crucial for bird conservation. We tested the differences in composition, richness and abundance of birds in different phytophysiognomies at Bodoquena Mountains, western Brazil, and we demonstrated the variations in richness and abundance of birds between different trophic groups. Sampling was conducted between July 2011 and June 2012 in 200 point counts arranged in the study area. A total of 3350 contacts were obtained belonging to 156 bird species. Woodland savannas, seasonal forests and arboreal savannas had higher bird abundance and richness, while riparian forests, clean pastures and dirty pastures had smaller values of these parameters. The bird community was organized according to local vegetational gradient, with communities of forests, open areas and savannas, although many species occurred in more than one vegetation type. The insectivorous, omnivorous, frugivorous and gramnivorous birds composed most of the community. These data showed how important environmental heterogeneity is to bird communities. Furthermore, the presence of extensive patches of natural habitats, the small distance between these patches and the permeability of pastures, with high arboreal and shrubby cover, are indicated as important factors to maintain the bird diversity.


2005 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 683-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cintra ◽  
T. M. Sanaiotti

The effects of fire on the composition of a bird community were investigated in an Amazonian savanna near Alter-do-Chão, Pará (Brazil). Mist-net captures and visual counts were used to assess species richness and bird abundance pre- and post-fire in an approximately 20 ha area. Visual counts along transects were used to survey birds in an approximately 2000 ha area in a nearby area. Results using the same method of ordination analysis (multidimensional scaling) showed significant effects of fire in the 20 ha and 2000 ha areas and strongly suggest direct effects on bird community composition. However, the effects were different at different spatial scales and/or in different years, indicating that the effects of fire vary spatially and/or temporally. Bird community composition pre-fire was significantly different from that found post-fire. Using multiple regression analysis it was found that the numbers of burned and unburned trees were not significantly related to either bird species richness or bird abundance. Two months after the fire, neither bird species richness nor bird abundance was significantly related to the number of flowering trees (Lafoensia pacari) or fruiting trees (Byrsonima crassifolia). Since fire is an annual event in Alter-do-Chão and is becoming frequent in the entire Amazon, bird community composition in affected areas could be constantly changing in time and space.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas M. Leveau ◽  
Jukka Jokimäki ◽  
Marja-Liisa Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki

AbstractRecent studies showed contrasting results about the homogenising force of urbanisation on bird community composition at large and regional scales. We studied whether urbanisation promotes the homogenisation of wintering bird communities and if this varies when comparing towns located within a specific region and towns located in two different biomes of two countries. We used both similarity indices based on the presence/absence data and the abundance data in comparing communities. Processes governing bird community dissimilarity between urbanisation levels were examined with the partitioning of Sörensen index in species turnover and nestedness. We made bird surveys in town centres and suburban habitats of three cities located in the Pampean region of Argentina and in the boreal region of Finland using a single-visit study plot method. Rarefacted species richness did not differ amongst the town centres between the countries, but it was higher in the suburban areas of Argentina than in Finland. At the country-level comparison, we found a higher similarity amongst the town centres than amongst the suburban areas; whereas at the regional comparison, similarity between town centres was comparable to the similarity between suburban areas. The use of an abundance-based index produced a higher similarity between town centre communities of both countries than when using a presence-based index. The dissimilarity between habitats in Argentina was related to nestedness and to species turnover in Finland. Our results indicate that urban-based biotic homogenisation of bird communities is dependent on the scale used, being more evident when comparing cities of different biomes where the same and abundant bird species, such as sparrows and doves, dominate. At the regional scale, quite a high beta-diversity can still be found within urban habitats. Processes of community dissimilarity between urban habitats may differ according to the regional pool of species, being more related to nestedness toward the tropics.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-41
Author(s):  
Namkhaidorj Sainbileg ◽  
Wang Tong ◽  
Yang Fan ◽  
Yang Guisheng

Species diversity and composition of bird community at South Lake Wetland Park in Hohhot city were investigated from October 2013 to September 2014. In total,64 bird species belonging to 33 families and 14 orders were recorded. There are 36 summer migrant species, 15 resident species, 11 traveling species and 2 winter migrant species found. The habitats of birds were grouped into four types (wetland, woodland, grassland and residential area) according to topography and vegetation types in the survey area.Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H`) was 2.9450 in wetland area and 1.0768 in grassland area the highest and the lowest values, respectively. The evenness of bird species was 0.4058 lowest in woodland and 0.7581 highest in residential area. The dominance index of bird species was 0.0733 lowest in the wetland and 0.4319 highest in the woodland, respectively. This paper analyzed the relationship between the main dominant bird species and their habitat characteristics,explained the main reasons for the increased bird species number.


2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 477-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith P. Lewis ◽  
Brian M. Starzomski

We examined the factors structuring bird communities across a complex subarctic treeline in the Mealy Mountains, Labrador, Canada. Using point counts of bird abundance in 2007 and 2008, we show that changes in vegetation driven by elevation are strongly correlated with avian community structure in this treeline ecotone system. Overall, avian diversity was higher in the forest compared with other habitat classes (krummholz, deciduous shrub, and alpine). There were strong correlations between avian diversity and vegetation richness, as well as structure, among and within habitat class in 2008. Numerous habitat types (subset of habitat class) were correlated with avian composition, although some species were clearly habitat generalists. Contrary to expectation, avian species composition was associated with physiognomy (vegetation structure) in alpine and deciduous shrub, and with either physiognomy or floristics (vegetation species composition) in krummholz and forest. Given the strong impact of elevation on vegetation and the demonstrated influence on bird communities, we note that for bird species whose near-southernmost populations are found in the Mealy Mountains, climate change is likely to have a strong negative effect if alpine tundra habitat is lost. Furthermore, forest bird species are likely to benefit from the increased tree cover as treeline moves poleward and upward.


Author(s):  
GITO HADIPRAYITNO ◽  
AGIL AL IDRUS ◽  
I GDE MERTHA ◽  
M LIWA ILHAMDI ◽  
I WAYAN SUANA

Abstract. Hadiprayitno G, Al Idrus A, Mertha IG, Ilhamdi ML, Suana IW. 2019. Birds community and it's conservation implications in Gunung Tunak Nature Park, Lombok, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 1753-1757.  Bird community is an important indicator of ecosystem health. A study was conducted in Gunung Tunak Nature Park to analyze the composition of bird species and the abundance and diversity of bird species. Data were collected by survey method from May to August 2017 on three trails. The bird fauna of  Gunung Tunak Nature Park consisted of 32 species belonging to 27 families and 10 orders. The order Passeriformes accounted for the dominant family and species, with an abundance of 61.6%. The species with the highest abundance is Zosterops chloris (13.9%), following by Orthotomus sepium (12.2%), and Streptopelia chinensis (10.4%). While the diversity index was 3.03, indicating that the bird community in Gunung Tunak Nature Park is still well preserved. Five species are of high conservation priority based on protected by Indonesian Law, Endemicity of Wallacea, and the IUCN Red list i.e., Megapodius reinwardt, Pitta elegans, Caloenas nicobarica, Lalage sueurii, and Dicrurus densus.


Author(s):  
Karel Poprach ◽  
Jana Vrbková

The paper is aimed to assessment of diversity and structure of bird community in floodplain forest ecosystem. Authors present results of analyses data on bird communities obtained at two transects in the Litovelské Pomoraví Protected Landscape Area (Czech Republic) in the period 1998–2012. Research of bird communities was carried out using the point-count method. The article deals with qualitative and quantitative representation of breeding bird species, including their relation to habitat type (closed floodplain forest, ecotone). Altogether 63 breeding species were recorded at the Vrapač transect and 67 at the Litovelské luhy transect, respectively. To be able to detect all recorded species, 11 out of 14 years of monitoring were needed at the Vrapač transect and all 8 years of monitoring at the Litovelské luhy transect, respectively. Authors show that the values in dominant bird species change significantly among the particular census dates within one season, mainly with respect to their activity and detectability. Results are discussed in the frame of sustainable forest management in floodplain forest ecosystems. The presented article can promote to discussion aimed to management strategy for floodplain forest ecosystems, which ranks among natural habitat types of Community interest protected under the Natura 2000 European network.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Badwan ◽  
James Harper

Background: A relationship between body size and longevity has long been appreciated within eukaryotes, especially vertebrates. Introduction: In general, large size is associated with increased longevity among species of mammals and birds but is associated with decreased longevity within individual species such as dogs and mice. In this study, we examined the relationship between measures of individual body size and longevity in a captive population of speckled cockroaches (Nauphoeta cineria). Method: Newly molted adults of both sexes were removed from a mass colony housed in multiple terraria and housed individually with food and water provided ad libitum for the duration of their lifespan. Thrice weekly, the status (i.e. live/dead) of individual cockroaches was noted for the duration of the study. Individuals found dead were weighed and measured to obtain body mass and morphometric measures and the age at the time of death was recorded. The relationship between body size and lifespan was assessed. Result: Contrary to what is commonly seen within vertebrates, large cockroaches were longer-lived than their smaller counterparts. Specifically, body mass, body length and pronotum width were all significantly correlated with the age at death in a mixed population of males and females (n = 94). In addition, we found that the longevity of a historically larger population in terms of both body mass and body length were significantly longer-lived than the population used in this study. Conclusion: These data indicate there is a significant interaction between body size and aging in this species and that increased size results in a survival advantage. There is evidence in the literature indicating that a positive relationship between size and longevity may be common in insects.


2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L Huertas ◽  
José A Díaz

A relationship between sunlight and bird abundance in cold climates may seem intuitive and perhaps obvious. However, there is, surprisingly, little or no evidence to support it. We investigated the effects of solar radiation on the winter abundance of insectivorous birds inhabiting a Mediterranean montane forest with a high frequency of cold, cloudless days. We censused birds by ear in 20 different forest tracts in which we simultaneously quantified a number of variables related to the availability of solar radiation, vegetation structure, arthropod abundance, and altitude. All variables related to solar radiation were reduced to a single principal component that attained high scores for south-facing transects, where many tree trunks received direct sunlight for a long period daily. The abundance of all bird species was positively related to the scores of transects on this component after the effects of vegetation structure, altitude, and prey availability were controlled for. Solar radiation was the main predictor of overall abundance and species richness of bird assemblages. Body mass and diet (insectivorous vs. mixed) explained 94.6% of interspecific variation in the strength of the relationship between solar radiation and bird abundance. We hypothesize that selecting forest sectors with a higher availability of sunlit patches allows birds to improve their winter survival by reducing the metabolic costs of thermoregulation, decreasing movement rates, and (or) increasing the time spent motionless in safe locations.


1995 ◽  
Vol 350 (1334) ◽  
pp. 369-379 ◽  

Models of ecological communities, including coevolved patterns of resource use among sympatric species (for example, ‘resource partitioning’), are poor or inadequate representations of natural systems despite intense theoretical effort for many years. Some of these difficulties are due to a failure to recognize the necessary conditions for community patterns to develop, which are largely controlled by the dynamic characteristics of individual species. In continental bird communities — examples of which are considered here - these necessary conditions often will not be met owing to the mobility of most species. Here I document the degrees to which the large-scale dynamics (over hundreds of km) of individual bird species are expressed in community terms in five forest-habitat types throughout the year. These data demonstrate that continental bird communities are so dynamic that the conditions for the development of definite structure are unlikely to be met in either proximate or evolutionary time. The failure of community theories to account for and predict structure probably reflects too much concentration on mechanisms at inappropriate spatial scales.


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