Frugivorous birds’ assemblages in neotropical forest: the relevance of landscape elements
Many of Mexico's mature tropical forests are immersed in a complex landscape with agricultural fields, second-growth vegetation, and forest fragments; assemblages of frugivorous birds vary in these different landscape elements. We studied assemblages of birds feeding on fruits of three tree species in continuous forest, vegetation corridors, isolated forest fragments, and secondary vegetation. Through direct observation of focal trees and documentation of frugivorous feeding activities, we use effective species numbers and Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling to describe the variation of habitat use patterns between assemblages. We recorded 1162 individuals of 57 bird species feeding on ripe fruits of Nectandra salicifolia, Dendropanax arboreus, and Bursera simaruba. Thirty-two species fed on isolated fragments and corridors of vegetation; our analysis grouped these two landscape elements by their species composition, representing 64.6% of all recorded individuals. The composition of the assemblages was influenced by the availability of fruits; Bursera simaruba exhibited a prolonged fruiting period and attracted a wider range of consumer species. Although the number of species varied slightly between different elements of the landscape, the importance of corridors and isolated forest fragments was key to the connectivity between bird and tree populations. At the geographic scale of this study, the transformation of the area does not reduce the diversity of frugivorous bird assemblages, as a result of the connectivity between the different elements of the landscape.
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Bogotá - Facultad de Ciencias - Instituto de Ciencias Naturales
2023
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/cal/article/view/100624 |
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