scholarly journals Using birds to set conservation priorities for Pantanal wetland forests, Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOÃO BATISTA DE PINHO ◽  
MIGUEL ÂNGELO MARINI
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Dry Forests ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Evergreen Forests ◽  
Local Species Richness ◽  
Bird Richness

SummaryThe Pantanal of Brazil, one of the largest wetlands in the world, is suffering severe threats, such as forest and grassland clearance on the surrounding plateau, conversion of forests and savannas for cattle ranching and effects of large development projects. We used richness, abundance and composition of bird species in four forest types to propose conservation priorities for the northern Pantanal. Birds from 11 sites (a total of 41 points) were sampled through point counts and mist-netting. In total 215 species were recorded in the forests. Two evergreen forest types (cambarazal and landi) had higher estimates of bird richness and abundance than two dry forest types (carvoeiro and cordilheira). The evergreen forests also had more species exclusive to them and were more similar to each other than the dry forests. Selection of forests to be conserved in the northern Pantanal should give priority to evergreen forests and secondarily to dry forests. Cambarazal should be the first forests to be conserved. If the Pantanal inundation cycle is altered by the construction of hydroelectric dams or the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, cambarazal and landi may no longer become flooded, decreasing local species richness. Before our recommendations are considered for conservation and management decisions, more studies on other groups of organisms should also be taken into consideration, and similar studies should be conducted in other regions of the Pantanal. Conservation of Pantanal forest birds depends on a deeper understanding of their use of several habitats, stronger protection of the forests with higher diversity, and public policies that guarantee the long term maintenance of natural flooding cycles.

scholarly journals Phenology of Leaf Flushing, Flower Initiation and Fruit Maturation in Dry Deciduous and Evergreen Forests of Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, Southern India

Our Nature ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nanda ◽  
H.M. Prakasha ◽  
Y.L. Krishna Murthy ◽  
H.S. Suresh
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Flower Initiation ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Fruit Maturation ◽  
Wildlife Sanctuary ◽  
Leaf Initiation ◽  
Evergreen Forests ◽  
Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary

Varying with altitude and rainfall of two forest types of tropical forest were studied. Community wide pattern in both vegetative and reproductive phenophases among various tree species of Bhadra wildlife sanctuary, Karnataka is reported here. Leaf initiation peaks in the month of April in dry forest, after leaf less period of 1-2 months, in evergreen forest leaf initiation peaks in the month of January simultaneously with leaf senescence. Flower initiation begins from January till June with a peak in April in dry forest. Evergreen forest starts from November to march with a peak in January and February. Fruit maturation in dry forest starts from March to December with a peak in August and November, in evergreen forest from January to July with a peak in April.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/on.v9i1.5738

Dry forest is more threatened but less protected than evergreen forest in Ecuador’s coastal region

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A Rivas ◽  
Rafael M Navarro-Cerillo ◽  
Jon C Johnston ◽  
José Guerrero-Casado
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
National Strategy ◽  
Dry Forests ◽  
Evergreen Forests

SummaryThe Ecuadorian coast has two main types of forests, which are differentiated by their phenology: dry forests are deciduous and more humid forests are evergreen. Less of the dry forests on the Ecuadorian coast is protected (13% of its area) than the evergreen forests (28%), and the area devoted to the protection of dry forests (1069 km2) is substantially less than the area devoted to the protection of evergreen forests (2800 km2). Yet the conservation status of dry forests is more critical, with 83% of their area classified as having very low connectivity, 70% as being highly fragile and 86% as being highly threatened. In addition, the dry forests have fewer protected areas than the evergreen forests. It is therefore necessary to increase the protection of deciduous ecosystems as part of a comprehensive national strategy because they support high levels of biodiversity and many endemic species.

scholarly journals Birds' nesting parameters in four forest types in the Pantanal wetland

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 890-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
JB Pinho ◽  
MÂ Marini
Keyword(s):  
Nest Predation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Nesting Success ◽  
Vegetation Density ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Dry Forests ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Evergreen Forests ◽  
Pantanal Wetland ◽  
Predation Rates

We tested the heterogeneity/productivity hypothesis with respect to the abundance and richness of birds and the vegetation density hypothesis with respect to birds' nest predation rates, and determined the relative importance of forested vegetation formations for the conservation of birds in the Pantanal. We estimated the apparent nesting success, and the abundance and richness of nesting birds' in four forest types, by monitoring nests during two reproductive seasons in four forested physiognomies (two high productivity/heterogeneity evergreen forests = Cambará and Landi; two low productivity/heterogeneity dry forests = Cordilheira and Carvoeiro) in the Pantanal wetland in Poconé, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. We found 381 nests of 46 species (35 Passeriformes and 11 non-Passeriformes) in the four forest types. Of these, we monitored 220 active nests belonging to 44 species, 101 during the reproductive season of 2001 and 119 in 2002. We supported the productivity/heterogeneity hypothesis since the two evergreen forests had higher nest abundance and one of them (Cambará) had higher nesting species richness than the dry forests. The number of nests found in each habitat differed with most nests monitored in the Cambará forest (82%), followed by Landi (9%), Cordilheira (6%) and Carvoeiro (3%) forests. The total number of nests monitored was significantly higher in evergreen forests than in dry forests. Also, more species nested in evergreen (37 species) than in dry (16 species) forests. A Correspondence Analysis revealed that only Carvoeiros had a different nesting bird community. The overall apparent nesting success of 220 nests was 26.8%. We did not support the vegetation density hypothesis since nest predation rates were similar between evergreen (73.5%) and dry (70%) forests, and were higher in the Landi (85%) than in the other three forests (69.2 to 72.2%). Our data indicate that Cambará forests seem to be a key nesting habitat for many bird species of the Pantanal. If this local pattern also occurs in other regions of the Pantanal, the use and management of Cambará forests might prove to be important for the conservation of forest birds of this biome. However, conflicting results with other taxonomic groups show that conservation measures for these forests and land use policies should be based on a more complete biodiversity evaluation of the region.

scholarly journals Avian species–area relationships indicate that towns are not different from natural areas

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
SIMONE FATTORINI ◽  
GIULIA LIN ◽  
CRISTINA MANTONI
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Avian Species ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Natural Areas ◽  
Bird Richness ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Species Area ◽  
Human Density

SUMMARYUrban areas host many bird species, and urban species richness can be compared with that in natural areas using species–area relationships (SARs). We used a multimodel selection approach to investigate the influence of area, human population, elevation and climatic variables on species richness of breeding birds from 34 towns and 54 nature reserves in Italy. Using the linearized power function, area was identified as the most important correlate of avian species richness in both urban and natural areas. The SARs did not differ significantly between towns and reserves, although human density had a negative effect on bird richness. These findings underline the possible importance of urban areas in biodiversity conservation, but also stress that human density is a factor reducing species richness. However, species richness alone cannot inform conservation priorities because it does not take into account the different conservation values of species.

scholarly journals The importance of riparian forest for the maintenance of bird species richness in an Atlantic Forest remnant, southern Brazil

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 1078-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz dos Anjos ◽  
Graziele H. Volpato ◽  
Edson V. Lopes ◽  
Patrícia P. Serafini ◽  
Fabíola Poletto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Forest Reserve ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Upland Forest ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Forest Remnant

We compared the composition and guild structure of bird communities of riparian and upland forest in an Atlantic forest reserve, the Godoy State Park (GP), in northern Paraná State, southern Brazil. Unlimited distance point counts were sampled monthly from September-December 2001, along four trails. Two trails in upland forest (TA and TB) were parallel to each other and about 300 m apart. Two trails in riparian forest (TC and TD) were along the Apertados River, about 100 m away from the river. A total of 145 species were recorded: 81 species were recorded in both upland and riparian forests, 19 species were recorded only in upland forest and 45 species were recorded exclusively in riparian forest. Among the 81 species occurring in both forest types, 18 species had significantly higher numbers of contacts in the riparian forest while only 8 species had significantly higher numbers of contacts in the upland forest. Taking into account the contacts numbers of the species the large frugivores guild was closely associated to the upland forest, while bamboo and vine-tangles insectivore, canopy insectivores, edge omnivores, ground omnivore and midstory insectivores were those more closely related to the riparian forest.

scholarly journals Avifaunal characterization of Corral de Piedra Palustrine Wetland, Nicoya, Costa Rica

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Vargas-Masis ◽  
Lilliana Piedra-Castro ◽  
Juan Bravo-Chacón
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Bird Conservation ◽  
Resident Species ◽  
Bird Richness

Wetlands maintain high biodiversity and provide important habitat for many bird species, but now have strong pressure from anthropogenic activities. Birds in wetlands are important indicators of environmental changes and our goal was to characterize the bird community in the wetlands Palustrine Corral de Piedra as a mechanism for conservation of tropical dry forest of Costa Rica. We used point counts to describe bird richness and abundance in open (lakes and flooded grasslands) and wooded areas. We described habitat use and microhabitats, trophic guilds, biogeographic distribution and status in Costa Rica. We recorded 83 species of resident birds belonging to 36 families, of which 65 are resident species and 18 have some migratory status in Costa Rica. Secondary consumer species of small vertebrates corresponded to 45,8% and primary consumers were 25,3%. The birds mainly used trees for perching but use emergent shrubs, floating vegetation and water. We found a large number of Egrets, Flycatchers and Hawks playing important roles as pollinators, seed dispersers and predator is adding significant value to the ecological dynamics of forests and lakes in the area. Corral de Piedra has special importance as a site for the establishment of migratory birds and large number of resident species of conservation concern. We consider that joint efforts between residents and researchers are an important tool for bird conservation in the region.

scholarly journals Asymmetric effects of environmental filtering on the assembly of tropical bird communities along a moisture gradient

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Gomez ◽  
Scott Robinson ◽  
Jose Miguel Ponciano
Keyword(s):  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Dry Forests ◽  
Rainfall Gradient ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Wet Forests

AbstractThe species-sorting hypothesis (SSH) states that environmental factors influence local community assembly of metacommunities by selecting for species that are well adapted to the specific conditions of each site. Along environmental gradients, the strength of selection against individuals that are marginally adapted to the local conditions increases towards the extremes of the environment where the climate becomes harsh. In rainfall gradients, the strength of selection by the environment has been proposed to decrease with rainfall. Under this scenario SSH would predict that immigration of individuals from the metacommunity should be restricted into the dry end of the gradient creating a positive relationship between immigration and rainfall. However, if the selection is strong in both ends of the gradient, the restriction should be expected to be in both directions such that the ends behave as independent metacommunities even in the absence of geographical barriers. In this study we used models based on neutral theory to evaluate if SSH can explain the distribution of bird species along a steep rainfall gradient in Colombia. We found a strong positive relationship between immigration rates and precipitation suggesting that the dry forests impose stronger challenges for marginally adapted bird populations. However, a two-metacommunity model separating dry and wet forests was a better fit to the observed data, suggesting that both extremes impose strong selection against immigrants. The switch from the dry forest to the wet forest metacommunities occurred abruptly over a short geographic distance in the absence of any apparent geographic barrier; this apparent threshold occurs where the forest becomes mostly evergreen. The relative number of rare species in dry forest was lower than in wet forests suggesting that the selection against marginally adapted populations is stronger in the dry forests. Overall, our analyses are consistent with SSH at the regional scales, but the rarity analysis suggests that the mechanisms at the local scales are substantially different. Based on these results, we hypothesize that abiotic (climatic) factors limit immigration into dry forest communities and whereas biotic factors such as competition and predation may limit immigration into bird communities in the wet forest.

scholarly journals Butterflies associated with major forest types in Arunachal Pradesh (eastern Himalaya), India: implications for ecotourism and conservation planning

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 10047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun P. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
The State ◽  
Eastern Himalaya ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Arunachal Pradesh ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
State Planning ◽  
Evergreen Forests ◽  
Number Of Species

A three year study (from December 2011 to December 2014 and in June 2015) on butterflies covering four major forest sub-types as classified by H.G. Champion & S.K. Seth in 1968 in ‘Forest Types of India’, which occupy 60% of the forest area lying below 2,500m across Arunachal Pradesh State in the eastern Himalaya of India, revealed 415 taxa belonging to six families (Hesperiidae: 74 species of 42 genera; Papilionidae: 37 species of 10 genera; Pieridae: 36 species of 15 genera; Lycaenidae: 85 species of 49 genera; Riodinidae: 7 species of 3 genera & Nymphalidae: 176 species of 71 genera, respectively).  These included many endemic and rare species typical of these forest sub-types, i.e., (i) 2B/1S1 Sub-Himalayan Light Alluvial Semi-Evergreen Forest (32 species), (ii) 2B/ C1(a) Assam Alluvial Plains Semi-Evergreen Forests (5 species), (iii) 2B/2S2 Eastern Alluvial Secondary Semi-Evergreen Forests- (15 species) and (iv) 3/1S2 (b) Terminalia-Duabanga (3 species), respectively.  The relative number of species and individuals sampled were the highest at altitudes below 500m, and gradually declined as the altitude increased to 2,000m, and above 2,500m species richness declined sharply.  The number of species and their relative abundance were the highest during July–August (Monsoon-first peak) and then again in November-December (Autumn-second peak), while the numbers were lowest during winter.  These findings suggest that these four forest types are important both for the purpose of ecotourism as well as conservation of endemic and rare taxa found in the eastern Himalaya and northeastern India at altitudes below 2,000m.  A complete list of all the taxa sampled is given along with relative abundance status during sampling, Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 status, and distribution in different forest types in the state.  Ten potential butterfly ecotourism zones are suggested for the state.  Planning land-use for biodiversity conservation based on butterfly-forest type associations, by taking forest sub-types as units of conservation, is suggested as an option for the eastern Himalaya.

scholarly journals Acoustic indices applied to biodiversity monitoring in a Costa Rica dry tropical forest

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica I. Retamosa Izaguirre ◽  
Oscar Ramírez-Alán
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Bird Richness

Standardized methods for biodiversity monitoring are needed to evaluate conservation efforts. Acoustic indices are used in biodiversity assessments, but need to be compared to traditional wildlife methods. This work was conducted in the Santa Rosa National Park between June and November, 2015. We installed recorders and conducted bird point counts in twelve sampling sites. We compared acoustic indices (Acoustic Evenness Index [AEI], Acoustic Diversity Index [ADI], Acoustic Complexity Index [ACI], Bioacoustic Index [BIO], Normalized Difference Soundscape Index [NDSI], Total Entropy [TE], Median Amplitude Envelope [MAE], Number of peaks [NP]) with indices from bird point counts (Bird Abundance, Bird Richness, Bird Diversity and Bird Evenness), and discuss the utility of acoustic indices as indicators for biodiversity monitoring in tropical forests. ADI, ACI, BIO and TE presented a similar temporal pattern peaking between 5 am and 6 am; and an additional peak at 5 pm, except for ACI. These patterns were consistent with the daily biological rhythms. AEI, ACI, BIO and Bird Abundance were related to characteristics of younger forests (lower percentage of canopy cover) but NP, ADI, TE, Bird Diversity and Bird Evenness were related to characteristics of older forests (higher percentage of canopy cover and a lower number of patches). ACI was positively correlated to Bird Abundance and NP was positively correlated to Bird Diversity. ACI reflects biological activity, but not necessarily a more diverse bird community in this study area. This might be an indication of a strong acoustic competition, or several highly dominant bird species in younger forests. Furthermore, acoustic communities in tropical forests commonly include insects (cicadas) and frogs, which might affect resulting acoustic indices. A variety of methods are probably needed to thoroughly assess biodiversity. However, a combination of indices such as ACI and NP might be considered to monitor trends in abundance and diversity of birds in dry forests.

scholarly journals Effect of habitat heterogeneity on bird assemblages in a grassland-forest ecotone in Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
André De Mendonça Lima ◽  
Solana Meneghel Boschilia ◽  
Jorge Bernardo Silva ◽  
Ronei Baldissera
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Guild Structure ◽  
Plant Structure ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Forest Expansion ◽  
Bird Assemblages ◽  
Alpha And Beta Diversity ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Forest Interior ◽  
Bird Richness

The present study evaluates differences in alpha and beta diversity and guild structure of bird assemblages along the ecotone between grassland and Araucaria forest in Southern Brazil. Birds were sampled by point counts (radius of 25 m) disposed in the grassland, in the grasslandforest edge, and in the forest interior, grouped in three blocks. Grassland presented low bird richness and abundance, and the bird composition and guild structure in grasslands were different from the edge and the forest interior. Grassland showed more granivores, while forest interior presented more omnivores, insectivores and insectivores/ frugivores. Notwithstanding, there was an overlap on the occurrence of some forest bird species in the edge and grassland, evidencing that the grassland plant structure composed of small forest patches and shrubs could facilitate bird movements, which, in turn, could influence forest expansion dynamics over the grassland.

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