Bird Assemblages in a Malagasy Forest-Agricultural Frontier: Effects of Habitat Structure and Forest Cover

Rocha, Ricardo; Virtanen, Tarmo; Cabeza, Mar

doi:10.1177/194008291500800307

Cited by 27 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Finally, to determine the relative importance of each explanatory variable, we performed a hierarchical partitioning analysis using the “hier.part” package in R (Mac Nally & Walsh, ), modified to incorporate a model offset—log(effort) (Jeppsson, Lindhe, Gärdenfors, & Forslund, ). Following Benchimol and Peres () and Rocha, Virtanen, and Cabeza (), hierarchical partitioning analysis was conducted only considering the fixed effects. To address the issue of potential spatial autocorrelation, the residuals of our best‐fit GLMMs were inspected using the Moran's I test.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following Benchimol and Peres (2015) and Rocha, Virtanen, and Cabeza (2015), hierarchical partitioning analysis was conducted only considering the fixed effects. To address the issue of potential spatial autocorrelation, the residuals of our best-fit GLMMs were inspected using the Moran's I test.…”

Section: Seasonal Differences In the Relative Importance Of Local Vmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Season‐modulated responses of Neotropical bats to forest fragmentation

Ferreira

Rocha

López‐Baucells

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Seasonality causes fluctuations in resource availability, affecting the presence and abundance of animal species. The impacts of these oscillations on wildlife populations can be exacerbated by habitat fragmentation. We assessed differences in bat species abundance between the wet and dry season in a fragmented landscape in the Central Amazon characterized by primary forest fragments embedded in a secondary forest matrix. We also evaluated whether the relative importance of local vegetation structure versus landscape characteristics (composition and configuration) in shaping bat abundance patterns varied between seasons. Our working hypotheses were that abundance responses are species as well as season specific, and that in the wet season, local vegetation structure is a stronger determinant of bat abundance than landscape‐scale attributes. Generalized linear mixed‐effects models in combination with hierarchical partitioning revealed that relationships between species abundances and local vegetation structure and landscape characteristics were both season specific and scale dependent. Overall, landscape characteristics were more important than local vegetation characteristics, suggesting that landscape structure is likely to play an even more important role in landscapes with higher fragment‐matrix contrast. Responses varied between frugivores and animalivores. In the dry season, frugivores responded more to compositional metrics, whereas during the wet season, local and configurational metrics were more important. Animalivores showed similar patterns in both seasons, responding to the same group of metrics in both seasons. Differences in responses likely reflect seasonal differences in the phenology of flowering and fruiting between primary and secondary forests, which affected the foraging behavior and habitat use of bats. Management actions should encompass multiscale approaches to account for the idiosyncratic responses of species to seasonal variation in resource abundance and consequently to local and landscape scale attributes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seasonal Differences In the Relative Importance Of Local Vmentioning

confidence: 99%

Season‐modulated responses of Neotropical bats to forest fragmentation

Ferreira

Rocha

López‐Baucells

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…Following Benchimol and Peres () and Rocha et al . (), hierarchical partitioning analysis was conducted considering only the fixed effects.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For these best-fit models, the relative importance of each predictor was determined through hierarchical partitioning analysis using the 'hier.part' package (Walsh et al 2013), modified to include 'log(effort)' as a model offset (Jeppsson et al 2010). Following Benchimol and Peres (2015) and Rocha et al (2015), hierarchical partitioning analysis was conducted considering only the fixed effects.…”

Section: Female-male Responses To Local and Landscape-scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Does sex matter? Gender‐specific responses to forest fragmentation in Neotropical bats

et al. 2017

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Understanding the consequences of habitat modification on wildlife communities is central to the development of conservation strategies. However, albeit male and female individuals of numerous species are known to exhibit differences in habitat use, sex‐specific responses to habitat modification remain little explored. Here, we used a landscape‐scale fragmentation experiment to assess, separately for males and females, the effects of fragmentation on the abundance of Carollia perspicillata and Rhinophylla pumilio, two widespread Neotropical frugivorous bats. We predicted that sex‐specific responses would arise from higher energetic requirements from pregnancy and lactation in females. Analyses were conducted independently for each season, and we further investigated the joint responses to local and landscape‐scale metrics of habitat quality, composition, and configuration. Although males and females responded similarly to a fragmentation gradient composed by continuous forest, fragment interiors, edges, and matrix habitats, we found marked differences between sexes in habitat use for at least one of the seasons. Whereas the sex ratio varied little in continuous forest and fragment interiors, females were found to be more abundant than males in edge and matrix habitats. This difference was more prominent in the dry season, the reproductive season of both species. For both species, abundance responses to local‐ and landscape‐scale predictors differed between sexes and again, differences were more pronounced in the dry season. The results suggest considerable sex‐mediated responses to forest disruption and degradation in tropical bats and complement our understanding of the impacts of fragmentation on tropical forest vertebrate communities.

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“…Just like predatory arthropods, many bird species prefer structurally complex farm landscapes with woody vegetation, uncultivated areas, or hedges that provide increased opportunities for foraging, breeding, or refuge from predators (Fischer & Lindenmayer, 2002;Munoz-Saez, Perez-Quezada & Estades, 2017). Such heterogeneous landscapes host arthropods in abundance and are therefore particularly attractive to insectivorous birds (Philpott et al, 2009;Rocha, Virtanen & Cabeza, 2015;Van Bael et al, 2008). Insectivorous birds are, however, often considered as less important than predatory arthropods in the herbivorous arthropod regulation function.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maize‐field complexity and farming system influence insectivorous birds’ contribution to arthropod herbivore regulation

2019

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The contribution of insectivorous birds to reducing crop damage through suppression of herbivory remains underappreciated, despite their role as cropland arthropod predators. We examined the roles of farming system, crop cover pattern, and structural configuration in influencing assemblage composition of insectivorous birds and their herbivorous arthropod prey across maize fields, and determined how bird exclusion affects crop herbivory levels. To achieve these objectives, we collected data across a sample of organic and conventional small‐scale non‐Bt maize farms in western Kenya. Assessments of abundance, diversity, and richness of insectivorous birds and abundance of their arthropod prey were compared between organic and conventional small‐scale non‐Bt maize on monocultured and inter‐cropped farms. We also employed bird exclusion experiments to assess impacts of bird predation on herbivorous arthropod abundance. Results showed that higher structural heterogeneity supported higher insectivorous bird richness, particularly under organic systems, dense trees, large woodlots, and thick hedgerows. Bird abundance further increased with crop diversity but not in relation to cropping method, hedgerow type, or percent maize cover per se. Conversely, herbivorous arthropod abundance and richness increased on conventional farms and those with higher percent maize cover, but were unaffected by cropping methods, tree, or hedgerow characteristics. Birds’ arthropod prey was more abundant under completely closed experimental plots compared with open or semi‐closed plots, confirming a significant linkage between birds and herbivorous arthropod suppression. In this study, we demonstrate importance of structural heterogeneity in agricultural landscapes, including diverse croplands and on‐farm trees to maximize insectivorous birds’ contribution to reducing crop arthropod herbivory. Abstract in Swahili is available with online material.

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Bird Assemblages in a Malagasy Forest-Agricultural Frontier: Effects of Habitat Structure and Forest Cover

Cited by 27 publications

References 73 publications

Season‐modulated responses of Neotropical bats to forest fragmentation

Season‐modulated responses of Neotropical bats to forest fragmentation

Does sex matter? Gender‐specific responses to forest fragmentation in Neotropical bats

Maize‐field complexity and farming system influence insectivorous birds’ contribution to arthropod herbivore regulation

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