scholarly journals Migratory bird species in young tropical forest restoration sites: effects of vegetation height, planting design, and season

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
CATHERINE A. LINDELL ◽  
REBECCA J. COLE ◽  
KAREN D. HOLL ◽  
RAKAN A. ZAHAWI
Keyword(s):  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Planting Design ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Vegetation Height

SummaryTropical land cover change has negatively affected numerous migratory bird populations. Forest restoration can augment migrant wintering habitat. However, almost no information exists about factors that influence migrant use of tropical restoration sites. We sampled migrant birds in young restoration sites in Costa Rica from February 2006 to April 2008 to determine how vegetation height, planting design, season, and landscape forest cover influenced capture rates of four declining species. We also documented total numbers of migratory species and individuals captured in each planting design treatment; each site had a control treatment where seedlings were not planted, an island treatment where seedlings were planted in patches, and a plantation treatment where seedlings were planted to cover the entire area. Sites varied in landscape forest cover within 500 m buffers. Three out of four focal species were captured significantly more often in plantation treatments than island or control treatments. Two of the four species showed seasonal patterns and one species was captured more often in high-vegetation sites. Greater numbers of species and individuals were captured in plantation treatments compared to island and control treatments. The plantation planting design increased migrant use more quickly than the island planting design. When resources are available, we recommend planting plantation-style to rapidly increase the value of restoration sites to a range of species, particularly those that use woody vegetation. When resources are more limited, planting islands may be a cost-effective, although not as ecologically effective, alternative that supports a diversity of migrant species compared to unplanted controls.

scholarly journals Issues of Meander Development: Land Degradation or Ecological Value? The Example of the Sajó River, Hungary

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1613 ◽  
Author(s):  
László Bertalan ◽  
Tibor Novák ◽  
Zoltán Németh ◽  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino ◽  
Ádám Kertész ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Degradation ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bank Erosion ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Positive Effects

The extensive destruction of arable lands by the process of lateral bank erosion is a major issue for the alluvial meandering type of rivers all around the world. Nowadays, land managers, stakeholders, and scientists are discussing how this process affects the surrounding landscapes. Usually, due to a land mismanagement of agroforestry activities or urbanization plans, river regulations are designed to reduce anthropogenic impacts such as bank erosion, but many of these regulations resulted in a degradation of habitat diversity. Regardless, there is a lack of information about the possible positive effects of meandering from the ecological point of view. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate a 2.12 km long meandering sub-reach of Sajó River, Hungary, in order to evaluate whether the process of meander development can be evaluated as a land degradation processes or whether it can enhance ecological conservation and sustainability. To achieve this goal, an archive of aerial imagery and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)-surveys was used to provide a consistent database for a landscape metrics-based analysis to reveal changes in landscape ecological dynamics. Moreover, an ornithological survey was also carried out to assess the composition and diversity of the avifauna. The forest cover was developed in a remarkable pattern, finding a linear relationship between its rate and channel sinuosity. An increase in forest areas did not enhance the rate of landscape diversity since only its distribution became more compact. Eroding riverbanks provided important nesting sites for colonies of protected and regionally declining migratory bird species such as the sand martin. We revealed that almost 70 years were enough to gain a new habitat system along the river as the linear channel formed to a meandering and more natural state.

scholarly journals Increased nesting success of Hawaii Elepaio in response to the removal of invasive black rats

The Condor ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C Banko ◽  
Kelly A Jaenecke ◽  
Robert W Peck ◽  
Kevin W Brinck
Keyword(s):  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Nest Success ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Nesting Success ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Forest Bird ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Black Rats

Abstract In Hawaii and other oceanic islands with few native land mammals, black rats (Rattus rattus) are among the most damaging invasive vertebrate species to native forest bird populations and habitats, due to their arboreal behavior and generalist foraging habits and habitat use. We evaluated the nesting response of Hawaii Elepaio (Chasiempis sandwichensis; Monarchidae), a generalist insectivore, to the removal of black rats using rodenticide in a before-after-control-impact study in high- and low-elevation mesic montane habitat recovering from long-term damage from introduced ungulates and weeds. We monitored nesting success and rat abundance during 2015–2016 before applying rodenticide bait in 2017 to remove rats from two 700 × 700 m treatment plots that were paired with 2 nontreatment plots of the same size. Rat abundance was reduced by 90% during treatment, with combined variables treatment and elevation best explaining the change using GLM methods and AIC model selection. The daily survival rate (DSR) of nests (n = 191) was greater on treated plots after rodenticide application (mean ± SE = 0.980 ± 0.004 treatment; 0.964 ± 0.004 nontreatment), modeled nest success increased from 29% to 50%, and apparent nest success (number of successful nests per total nests) increased from 37% to 52%. The most informative model for predicting DSR included the effect of treatment. Predation by rats was documented at 3 of 16 nests using video surveillance, and we observed additional evidence of rat predation during in-person nest monitoring. Rats targeted adults on the nest and sometimes removed intact eggs, leaving little trace of their activity. Our results demonstrate that reducing rat predation can immediately improve the nesting success of even a common bird species in habitat with a long history of forest restoration. Sustained predator control may be critical to accelerating the recovery of native forest bird communities.

scholarly journals Cost Effective Acoustic Monitoring of Biodiversity and Bird Populations in Kenya

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciira wa Maina ◽  
David Muchiri ◽  
Peter Njoroge
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Automatic Monitoring ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Audio Recordings

AbstractWith the increasing need to effectively monitor a growing number of ecosystems of interest due to risks posed to these ecosystems by human activity and climate change, novel approaches to biodiversity monitoring are needed. In this work we demonstrate the application of low cost acoustic recorders based on the Raspberry Pi microprocessor to biodiversity monitoring. The recorders are capable of capturing audio recordings from which we can compute acoustic indices of biodiversity and identify bird species of interest. We compare the acoustic indices of biodiversity and results of point counts aimed at determining bird species presence and find that the acoustic complexity index has a significant positive correlation to point count results. In addition, we show that the presence of the Hartlaub’s Turaco, a ubiquitous species in montane forests in Kenya with a distinct call, can be automatically determined using recordings obtained using our setup. Montane species are of interest for long-term automatic monitoring since they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Our system is able to deal with the large amounts of data generated by the acoustic recorders. The automatic screening of approximately five hours of recordings for presence of the Hartlaub’s Turaco call is achieved in approximately three minutes representing a large time saving that makes use of audio recordings for species identification feasible.

scholarly journals A preliminary study on the birds of Thane Creek, Maharashtra, India

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 8797
Author(s):  
Sheetal Chaudhari-Pachpande ◽  
Madhuri K. Pejaver
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Point Count ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Good Population ◽  
Point Count Method ◽  
Thane Creek

Shorebirds also known as waders comprise several adaptations, which enable them to forage on exposed mudflats.  The population of birds in any ecosystem shows the environmental quality of the area, pollution level, security and availability of food and habitat.  Thane Creek located in Mumbai is one of the unique mangrove ecosystems, maintaining a good population of sediment-dwelling organisms that support a myriad of migratory and non-migratory bird populations.  Bird surveys were carried out using the point count method across two different locations at Thane Creek.  In total 95 species of birds were recorded during the study and distinguished as per the pattern of their foraging.  A healthy diversity of bird species observed indicates the high productivity of the creek.

scholarly journals The recent distribution of endemic, disjunct and globally uncommon birds in the forests of Kerala State, south-west India

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. Zacharias ◽  
Anthony J. Gaston
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Western India ◽  
Large Network ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Disjunct Populations ◽  
Kerala State

SummarySurveyed the avifaunas of 24 forest areas in Kerala State, south-western India, over the period 1973–1997, recording 309 species. We give details here of distributions and status for all species endemic to South Asia and all those having isolated populations, disjunct from conspecifics in northern India (disjunct species). Most bird species found in Kerala that are endemic to southern India, or form disjunct populations, occur in forest habitats. Those species endemic to the Western Ghats (passerines), or constituting disjunct populations (raptors) tend to have more restricted occurrence than other forest birds. For the passerines this is because they are mainly confined to high elevation forests and grasslands: rather restricted habitats in Kerala. The raptors may be more dependent than other species on large areas of forest and hence may have suffered from recent reductions in forest cover. Current trends in forest clearance for agriculture and plantations and encroachment by settlers, threaten especially the birds of low and middle altitude forests. The present status of such birds as Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus, Great Eared Nightjar Eurostopodus macrotis, Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis and White-bellied Blue Flycatcher Cyornis pallipes seems to be markedly worse than that described by Ali (1969) for the 1930s. These species, as well as Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis and Black-crested Baza Aviceda leuphotes, are patchily distributed at low densities and may be vulnerable to extirpation from local areas. Higher altitude habitats, where many endemics occur, cover smaller areas, but are less threatened. However, some species occurring at low densities (Rufous-bellied Eagle Hieraaetus kienerii, White-bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major, Black-and-orange Flycatcher Ficedula nigrorufa, Broad-tailed Grassbird Schoenicola platyura) may be vulnerable to extirpation or extinction in the long term. Kerala has a large network of protected areas (National Parks, Sanctuaries). Effective protection of those areas should be sufficient to maintain most species, although the coverage of low altitude forest is poor and remaining fragments should be carefully protected. There is continuous pressure on all habitats and bird populations will need to be carefully monitored in future if Kerala's endemic and disjunct populations are to be maintained.

scholarly journals The Effect of Forest Management on the Avifauna of a Brazilian Dry Forest

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Ramos Ribeiro ◽  
Flor Maria Guedes Las-Casas ◽  
Hevana Santana de Lima ◽  
Weber Andrade de Girão e Silva ◽  
Luciano Nicolás Naka
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Semi Arid

The conversion of tropical habitats has dramatic implications on biodiversity and represents one of the greatest conservation challenges of our time. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTF), which are disjointly distributed throughout the Neotropics, are especially susceptible to human activities. The Caatinga Dry Forest, located in the semi-arid interior of northeastern Brazil, represents not only the largest and most biologically diverse nucleus of SDTF, but also the world’s most densely populated semi-arid region, with ever-growing pressure on its natural resources. To prevent illegal logging, conservation agencies looked at forest management, where an area is divided in smaller stands which are gradually logged and allowed to regrow for a period of time, when a new cutting cycle should reinitiate. The impacts of these management schemes on biodiversity, however, remain largely untested. We conducted standardized avian surveys to evaluate the effects of forest management on the avian community at a 1,670 ha privately owned property located on the Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil. This area was divided in 22 forest stands, half of which had already been logged at the time of our sampling, creating a gradient of logged and natural forests and an 11-yr chrono-sequence of forest regeneration. Our results show that logged areas present fewer individuals, fewer species, and different avian assemblages than unlogged forests. Such differences are mostly driven by forest-dependent species, which were overwhelmingly affected by forest management. Our results show that although logged forests tend to recover its height after a decade, they do not recover the originally forest cover, measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. Likewise, decade-long recovering stands continue to show lower species richness, lower bird abundance, and different avian composition than unlogged forests. We identified a set of bird species that are more affected by forest management (ecological losers) and a group of birds that apparently benefit from the referred changes in land use (ecological winners). We conclude that completely managing an entire area may cause the extirpation of several forest-dependent species. We therefore suggest keeping logged and unlogged plots intermingled, to avoid local extinctions and the complete modification of the original avifauna.

Towards a new, ecologically targeted approach to monitoring wild bird populations for avian influenza viruses

2012 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
pp. 1050-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. U. R. SCHOENE ◽  
C. STAUBACH ◽  
C. GRUND ◽  
A. GLOBIG ◽  
M. KRAMER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Avian Influenza ◽  
Indicator Species ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Wild Bird ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Monitoring Method ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus

SUMMARYPrevalence monitoring of avian influenza in wild bird populations is important to estimate risks for the occurrence of potentially zoonotic and economically disastrous outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (AIV) in poultry worldwide. A targeted, cost-effective monitoring method for AIV in wild birds was developed, which is based on monitoring results for AIV in Germany and information on the distribution and abundance of wild bird species in selected habitat types. Spatial data were combined with virological and outbreak data for the period of 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2010. Using Germany as an example, we identified 11 indicator species. By concentrating monitoring efforts on these species in spatially confined locations, we propose a targeted and more cost-effective risk-based AIV monitoring approach that can be adapted universally for the identification of wild bird indicator species worldwide with the perspective of reducing sample sizes (and costs) without impairing the validity of the results.

scholarly journals Developing biodiversity indicators for African birds

Oryx ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.R. Wotton ◽  
M.A. Eaton ◽  
D. Sheehan ◽  
F. Barasa Munyekenye ◽  
I.J. Burfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Strong Increase ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Biodiversity Indicators ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Environmental Goals

AbstractBiodiversity indicators are essential for monitoring the impacts of pressures on the state of nature, determining the effectiveness of policy responses, and tracking progress towards biodiversity targets and sustainable development goals. Indicators based on trends in the abundance of birds are widely used for these purposes in Europe and have been identified as priorities for development elsewhere. To facilitate this we established bird population monitoring schemes in three African countries, based on citizen science approaches used in Europe, aiming to monitor population trends in common and widespread species. We recorded > 500 bird species from c. 450 2-km transects in Botswana, > 750 species from c. 120 transects in Uganda, and > 630 species from c. 90 transects in Kenya. Provisional Wild Bird Indices indicate a strong increase in bird populations in Botswana and a small decrease in Uganda. We also provide comparisons between trends of habitat generalists and specialists, of birds within and outside protected areas, and between Afro-Palearctic migrants and resident birds. Challenges encountered included recruiting, training and retaining volunteer surveyors, and securing long-term funding. However, we show that with technical support and modest investment (c. USD 30,000 per scheme per year), meaningful biodiversity indicators can be generated and used in African countries. Sustained resourcing for the existing schemes, and replication elsewhere, would be a cost-effective way to improve our understanding of biodiversity trends globally, and measure progress towards environmental goals.

scholarly journals Prey, management and landscape requirements of an endangered population of the Woodlark Lullula arborea in Southwest Germany

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verena Rösch ◽  
Pascal Aloisio ◽  
Martin H. Entling
Keyword(s):  
Food Resource ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Main Food ◽  
Vegetation Height ◽  
Endangered Population ◽  
Rhine Valley ◽  
Territory Selection ◽  
Main Food Source ◽  
Upper Rhine

AbstractVineyards can be valuable habitats for biodiversity conservation. For example, in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany) over a third of the state’s critically endangered Woodlark (Lullula arborea) population breeds in vineyards along the western margin of the Upper Rhine Valley. We here aim to elucidate how local ground cover management, food availability and the proximity to settlements affect territory selection by this bird species in the region. As climate, site conditions and management differ greatly from more continental or Mediterranean wine-growing areas, conditions for Woodlark conservation may differ as well.We compared 26 Woodlark territories in vineyards with 26 nearby reference areas from which Woodlarks were absent. We recorded vineyard ground cover in the inter-rows (% cover) as well as vegetation height and composition (forbs vs. grasses). Arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps, since they are the main food resource of Woodlarks during the breeding season. In addition, the distance to built-up areas was measured. The vegetation in Woodlark territories was shorter (mean 14.2 vs. 19.6 cm) and more dominated by forbs (39% vs. 27% cover) than in absence areas. The vegetation cover in the inter-rows had no effect on Woodlark territory presence or absence. Woodlarks also favoured areas with a higher abundance of arthropods (mean abundance 69.1 vs. 57.5) and a greater distance to built-up areas (mean distance 554 vs. 373 m). We conclude that to promote the Woodlark in wine-growing areas, short, forb-rich swards should be created, facilitating arthropod detectability. This is likely to require low levels of nitrogen fertilization since fertilizers favour tall-growing grasses that outcompete forbs. Pesticide applications should be kept at a minimum to enhance arthropods as the main food source for Woodlarks and their chicks. In addition, the expansion of settlements into breeding areas of Woodlarks should be avoided.

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