Birds have been a major focus of study in Monteverde. The first biologists to study in Monteverde were ornithologists William Buskirk and George Powell, who arrived in 1970 on the recommendation of F. Gary Stiles. They were attracted by the low stature of the cloud forest, which made research on mixed-species flocks more tractable than in tall lowland forests. The number of publications since then (110 as of 1996) and the number of different first authors of those publications (31) attest to the extent to which Monteverde birds have been studied. Sixteen Ph.D. students have written dissertations based largely on data collected on the birds of Monteverde. In comparison, other well-known tropical study sites such as La Selva in Costa Rica or Manú in Peru have supported less graduate work on birds (five and four dissertations, respectively). Two major strengths of the Monteverde bird research are autecological studies and birdplant interaction studies. Although autecological studies may be declining because of changing scientific fashion (Levey and Stiles 1994), studies on single species or small groups of species have abounded at Monteverde. We know much about certain species but have little information about the bird community as a whole. Most studies of avian community ecology in Monteverde have been in the context of interactions with plants. Monteverde’s avifauna is attractive to ornithologists for five reasons: (1) Unusual behaviors: From the perspective of temperate ornithologists, many species of birds in Monteverde exhibit bizarre behaviors. For example, dual-male duets and dances by male Long-tailed Manakins are phenomena that are virtually unique in the animal kingdom (McDonald and Potts 1994; Fig. 6.1; see McDonald, “Cooperation Between Male Longtailed Manakins,”). Similarly, the March- July chorus of Three-wattled Bellbirds, heard for kilometers in every direction, draws attention to this species. Many who walk into a pasture in the dairy community have been mobbed by Brown Jays and wondered about their communal social behavior (Lawton and Guindon 1981, Lawton and Lawton 1985). These vocal species literally cry out to be studied.
The development of social interactions in Corydoras aeneus larvae
