Background. As one of the highest and most unique systems in the world, Polylepis forests are recognized both as center of endemism and diversity along the Andes and as a system under serious threat from human activities, fragmentation, and climate change. Effective conservation efforts are limited, in part, by our poor understanding of the habitat needs of the system’s flora and fauna.
Methods. In 2014-2015, we studied bird communities and 19 associated local and landscape attributes within five forested glacial valleys within the Cordillera Blanca and Huascaran National Park, Peru. Birds were surveyed in dry (May-August) and wet (January-April) seasons at 130 points distributed along an elevational gradient (3,300-4,700 masl) and analyzed using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA).
Results. A total of 50 species of birds, including 13 species of high conservation concern, were associated with four basic habitat types: (1) Polylepis sericea forests at low elevations, (2) P. weberbaueri forests at high elevations, (3) Puna grassland and (4) shrublands. Four species of conservation priority (e.g., Poospiza alticola) were strongly associated with large forest patches (~10-ha) dominated by P. sericea at lower elevations (<3,800 masl), whereas another four (e.g., Anairetes alpinus) were associated with less disturbed forests of P. weberbaueri at upper elevations (>4,200 masl).
Discussion. Results suggest that, in addition to conserving large (>10-ha) P. sericea forests at lower elevations as the cornerstone for maintaining bird diversity, any high elevation (>4,200 masl) relicts of P. weberbaueri, irrespective of size, should be prioritized for conservation.
The Metabolic Ecology of Tropical Amphibians Across an Elevational Gradient in the Andes of Southeastern Peru