Birds of New Guinea

Beehler, Bruce M.; Pratt, Thane K.

doi:10.1515/9781400880713

Cited by 141 publications

(77 citation statements)

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“…Finally, the advancement of biodiversity science relies on making hard-won field data publically available. To that end, we provide (a) a full list of the 256 species of birds documented thus far along the YUS elevational gradient, including elevational limits for all forest-dwelling species (Supporting Information Table S5), and (b) the raw data from our mist netting surveys (Supporting Information Table S4), which we believe represent the most thorough mist netting survey of a single tropical elevational gradient published to date (taxonomy follows Beehler & Pratt, 2016). This information provides valuable baseline data that can be used by future biodiversity scientists to evaluate the changes in the YUS avifauna and will be generally useful to biodiversity scientists studying tropical elevational gradients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited support for the “abundant centre” hypothesis in birds along a tropical elevational gradient: implications for the fate of lowland tropical species in a warmer future

Freeman

Beehler

2018

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Since Darwin, ecologists have assumed that species tend to be abundant in the centre of their geographic distributions and rare at their range edges. We test two predictions of this abundant centre hypothesis: (a) that species are common in the centre of their range and rare at the edges and (b) that empirical distributions along environmental gradients are well described by symmetric bell‐shaped curves. Location A reef‐to‐ridgetop elevational gradient in the Yopno–Urawa–Som Conservation Area (YUS CA) on the Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea. Taxon Birds. Methods We use mist net capture rates to quantify species’ abundances as a function of range position, then fit a series of models with different shapes, including symmetric curves, to species’ empirical abundance distributions. Results Species peak abundances were located near species’ low elevation range edges, high elevation range edges and everywhere in between. Real abundance distributions were fit well by symmetric curves in fewer than half of the species we analysed. Most lowland species have high abundances at their low elevation margin near sea level. Main conclusions We find only limited support for the abundant centre hypothesis. Most lowland species appear to currently occupy a “truncated” realized niche, suggesting that they will be able to persist at low elevations even as temperatures increase and that lowland biotic attrition is unlikely. In addition to analyses, we present (a) a full species list for the 256 species recorded thus far within the YUS CA, with elevational limits for all forest species and (b) the raw data from our extensive mist net surveys. This information provides valuable baseline data that can be used by future biodiversity scientists to evaluate the changes in the YUS avifauna and will be generally useful to biodiversity scientists studying tropical elevational gradients.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited support for the “abundant centre” hypothesis in birds along a tropical elevational gradient: implications for the fate of lowland tropical species in a warmer future

Freeman

Beehler

2018

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Both astigmaticus and melanocephalus occur in mountain regions that hold several other endemic bird taxa (Beehler et al . ; Heads ). As these mountain regions consist of distinct and old terranes (Hall ; Cloos et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting phylogeographic signatures in two Australo‐Papuan bowerbird species complexes (Aves: Ailuroedus)

et al. 2015

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The Australo‐Papuan catbird genus Ailuroedus has a complex distribution and a contested taxonomy. Here, we integrate phylogenetic analysis of DNA data and morphology to study the group's biogeography and to re‐examine its taxonomy. We couple phylogeographic and abiotic data to examine differences between the major groups defined in our phylogenetic analysis. Our results are consistent with Ailuroedus catbirds being divided into two species complexes, one distributed in humid forests in the lowlands on New Guinea and another in comparably drier and colder forests mainly in mid‐mountains on New Guinea and Australia. Vicariant events during the Pliocene are surmised to have been the major force in shaping the contemporary phylogeographical signature of this genus. Several previously suggested vicariant events, such as fragmentation of xeric forests in Australia and the uplift of the central mountain range on New Guinea, are reinforced as important Pliocene barriers for tropical forest taxa in this region. Interaction between Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and differences in habitat requirements may explain a higher and more recent population structures in the mid‐mountain catbird complex and the lack of representatives from the lowland clade in the comparably drier Australia. Phylogeographical patterns in both catbird complexes, respectively, both comply and deviate from other lowland and mid‐mountain taxa in the region. This highlights that taxon‐specific properties, such as their historical spatial and ecological distributions, capacity to disperse and tolerance to habitat changes, affect the phylogeographical histories of organisms. Within both species complexes, the genetic differentiation between several geographically isolated populations was found to exceed those commonly observed for avian sister species. As these genetically distinct taxa also were found to be morphological diagnosable, we suggest a revised classification of the genus Ailuroedus, where we recognize three species within the lowland complex and seven species within the mid‐mountain complex.

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“…Observed birds were categorized into four broad trophic guilds, including insectivores (invertebrates as main food), frugivores (fruit and seed eaters), omnivores (feed on plant material and invertebrates in similar ratios), and nectarivores, based on dietary information provided in several references (Peckover and Filewood 1976, Beehler et al 1986, del Hoyo et al 1992-2011 and our own observations. We considered birds with a body length (obtained from del Hoyo et al 1992-2011) >40 cm to be large, 23-39 cm as medium, and <22 cm as small (www.whatbird.com).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of forest fragmentation on bird species richness in Papua New Guinea

et al. 2014

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Tropical forests worldwide are being fragmented at a rapid rate, causing a tremendous loss of biodiversity. Determining the impacts of forest disturbance and fragmentation on tropical biotas is therefore a central goal of conservation biology. We focused on bird communities in the interior (>100 m from forest edge) of forest fragments (300, 600, and 1200 ha) in the lowlands of Papua New Guinea and compared them with those in continuous forest. We surveyed bird communities using point counts, mist‐netting, and random walks, and measured habitat and microclimate characteristics at each site. We also surveyed leaf‐dwelling arthropods, butterflies, and ants, and obtained diet samples from birds to examine food availability and food preferences. We recorded significantly fewer bird species per point in the 300‐ha forest fragment than in other study sites. Overall, we recorded 80, 84, and 88 species, respectively, in forest fragments, and 102 in continuous forest. Frugivores (especially large frugivores) and insectivores had lower species richness in forest fragments than continuous forest. Our results did not support the food scarcity hypothesis, that is, the decline of insectivorous birds in forest fragments is caused by an impoverished invertebrate prey base. We also found no significant differences among forest fragments and continuous forest in microclimates of forest interiors. Rather, we found that microhabitats preferred by sensitive birds (i.e., 30% of species with the strongest preferences for continuous forest) were less common in forest fragments (19%–31% of points) than in continuous forest (86% of points). Our results suggest that changes in microhabitats may make forest fragments unsuitable for sensitive species. However, limited dispersal capabilities could also make some species of birds less likely to disperse and occupy fragments. In addition, impoverished food resources, size of the forest fragment, or hunting pressure could contribute to the absence of large frugivorous birds in forest fragments. The forest fragments in our study, preserved as village‐based protected areas, were not large enough to sustain the bird communities found in continuous forest. However, because these fragments still contained numerous bird species, preservation of such areas can be an important component of management strategies to conserve rainforests and birds in Papua New Guinea.

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Birds of New Guinea

Cited by 141 publications

References 0 publications

Limited support for the “abundant centre” hypothesis in birds along a tropical elevational gradient: implications for the fate of lowland tropical species in a warmer future

Limited support for the “abundant centre” hypothesis in birds along a tropical elevational gradient: implications for the fate of lowland tropical species in a warmer future

Contrasting phylogeographic signatures in two Australo‐Papuan bowerbird species complexes (Aves: Ailuroedus)

Effect of forest fragmentation on bird species richness in Papua New Guinea

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