A roadmap to identifying and filling shortfalls in Neotropical ornithology

Abstract

Securing the long-term resilience of the world’s most speciose avifauna, that of the Neotropics, requires spatially and temporally explicit data to inform decisions. We examine gaps in our knowledge of the region’s avifauna through the lens of the biodiversity shortfall concept: the gaps between realized knowledge and complete knowledge. This framework serves as a useful tool to take stock of the last 25 yr of Neotropical ornithological work since the untimely death of Ted Parker. Here, we highlight 7 key shortfalls: taxonomy, distribution, abundance, evolutionary patterns, abiotic tolerances, species traits, and biotic interactions. We then propose an eighth—and new—“Parkerian” shortfall that reflects a lack of basic natural history knowledge key to understanding how species might respond to environmental challenges. Bridging this shortfall will help reverse declines by informing reintroduction, recovery network, and habitat restoration efforts. We discuss the challenges imposed by each shortfall and how strategies such as citizen-science initiatives and technological advances can either remedy or mitigate the uncertainty they generate.

Aves acuáticas de la cuenca baja del río Sinú, Córdoba, Caribe Colombiano

“…Los humedales proveen recursos alimenticios, sitios de reproducción y hábitat para una alta diversidad de aves migratorias y residentes (Elliott et al, 2020). Sin embargo, aún existen grandes vacíos de conocimiento sobre la historia natural de las aves neotropicales, que impiden entender las respuestas de las especies a los cambios ambientales (Lees et al, 2020). Por consiguiente, es necesaria una mayor cantidad de estudios sobre este grupo de vertebrados, para tener un conocimiento más profundo sobre la ecología, evolución y patrones de distribución de la biodiversidad en países del Neotrópico, como Colombia (Antonelli et al, 2018).…”

Knowledge gaps and biases in the Pantanal indicate future directions for ornithological research in large wetlands

“…Citizen science may also help to study some threatened species from under-sampled families (e.g. Tyrannidae and Thraupidae) by accessing specific remote areas and/or detecting species (Tulloch & Szabo 2012, Lees et al 2020. The collaboration of local volunteers and birdwatching tourism may therefore be essential to fill these knowledge gaps and inform conservation policy.…”

“…richness, abundance, diversity) have received little attention (Cardoso et al 2011, Schmidt-Lebuhn et al 2013, Deikumah et al 2014, Hortal et al 2015. This uneven distribution of research across geographical areas, biological groups, traits and responses, and the knowledge gaps that result, ultimately have key consequences for biodiversity conservation, such as ineffective management strategies (Nelson et al 1990, Clark & May 2002, Bini et al 2006, Hortal et al 2015, Lees et al 2020. Identifying and filling knowledge gaps is therefore of paramount importance to direct future research to provide unbiased databases that can ultimately lead to improved decision-making and efficient conservation policies (e.g.…”

“…Notably, the Neotropics is the most bird-rich realm of the world (Stotz et al 1996, Smith et al 2014, but more research is still required to better understand the ecology, evolution and distribution patterns of biodiversity in this biogeographical region (Antonelli et al 2018). For example, major gaps in natural history knowledge of Neotropical birds limit understanding of the response by species to environmental changes (Lees et al 2020).…”

An introduction to predictive distribution modelling for conservation to encourage novel perspectives

“…For example, bill size has been shown to be important for thermoregulation in birds (e.g., Danner & Greenberg, 2015) and a study of functional trait structure along a tropical elevational gradient in Malaysian Borneo linked larger bills in low elevation communities with thermal tolerance (Boyce et al, 2019). Current shortfalls in avian occurrence data (summarized by Lees et al, 2020) require an integrated approach to predicting bird distributions with global change.…”