Competition with insectivorous ants as a contributor to low songbird diversity at low elevations in the eastern Himalaya.

Supriya, K.; Price, Trevor D.; Moreau, Corrie S.

doi:10.22541/au.158137036.64067629

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…4). The diets of foliage gleaners are dominated by lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), hemipterans (bugs) and arachnids (especially spiders) (Supriya et al, 2020). We show a reduced abundances of arthropods from these orders with logging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of selective logging on microclimates, arthropod abundance and the foraging behaviour of Eastern Himalayan birds

Aggarwal

Chanda

Rai

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Selective logging is the practice of removing a subset of commercially important trees from a forest is a globally pervasive form of forest degradation. Selective logging alters both the structure and function of forests and the composition of ecological communities. Tropical insectivorous birds are highly vulnerable to microhabitat alterations in logged forest. Such altered microhabitats might affect the foraging of forest birds by altering (a) resource availability, and (b) foraging behaviour. We investigated the effect of selective logging on microclimates, prey availability, foraging behaviour and the foraging success of eastern Himalayan birds in the breeding season. Selective logging alters temperature-humidity microclimates and the composition of arthropod communities, both of which are likely to then collectively alter foraging behaviour by birds. We show that birds spent a lower proportion of their time foraging in primary compared with logged forest. Further, selective logging interacts with species traits such as body mass, preferred foraging stratum (understorey, midstorey or canopy) and foraging manoeuvre to influence foraging success. Gleaners generally foraged more successfully in primary forest and salliers in logged forest, although these patterns were modified by body mass and foraging stratum. Synthesis and applications: Our study shows how altered microclimates in anthropogenically modified habitats can influence resource availability and have downstream impacts on the behaviour of species at higher trophic levels. Keywords: arthropod density, arthropod diversity, foraging success, forest degradation, gleaner, land-use change, microclimate, montane birds, sallier, time spent foraging, understorey insectivores

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of selective logging on microclimates, arthropod abundance and the foraging behaviour of Eastern Himalayan birds

Aggarwal

Chanda

Rai

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Like all ectotherms, arthropods are sensitive to the temperature and humidity changes (Burraco et al 2020; Renault et al) and make up the diets of all our study species (Supriya et al 2020). Therefore, to better understand biotic changes accompanying selective logging, we studied the arthropod community compositions in primary and logged forest.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abiotic niche predictors of long-term trends in body mass and survival of Eastern Himalayan birds

Bharadwaj

Chanda

Srinivasan

2022

Preprint

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Climate change and habitat degradation are two of the greatest threats to tropical biodiversity today. In addition to their independent effects, habitat degradation compounds the impacts of climate change by creating habitats with novel abiotic characteristics (typically hotter, drier and more variable). Tropical species are often microhabitat and microclimate specialists occupying distinct temperature and humidity niches. How species′ abiotic niches affect their responses to the joint impacts of climate change and habitat degradation remains poorly understood, especially in terms of changes in phenotype and demographic vital rates. Using an 11-year mark-recapture dataset and temperature-humidity measurements from primary and selectively logged forest from 2000m in the Eastern Himalayas, we investigate how the abiotic (temperature-humidity) niche sizes of populations of species in primary forest and abiotic niche overlaps between populations in primary and logged forest predicted body mass and survival trends over time for populations in each habitat. Our results show that logged forest is hotter and drier than primary forest, and the arthropod community shows dramatic shifts in composition upon selective logging. In understorey insectivores, we find that body masses appear to be declining over time in logged, but not in primary forest. Further, across species, we report a positive relationship between the size of the primary forest niche and body mass trends over time in primary forest but not in logged forest. The degree of dissimilarity between species-specific primary and logged forest niches was strongly and negatively correlated with survival trends in logged forest. Here, we show that temperature-humidity niche shifts in response to anthropogenic habitat modification can impact demographic vital rates crucial for population persistence. This work has the potential to inform prompt, targeted conservation efforts toward species that are the most threatened in a warmer and more degraded world.

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“…Information on diet does not exist for bird species in this region, other than the fact that they are insectivorous. Ants are also known to compete with birds for the same arthropod prey, possibly excluding each other in areas where they are found (Supriya et al 2020). Hence, I removed Hymentoptera before analyses.…”

Section: Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several arthropod groups also specialise on different substrates in bambooaquatic and semi-aquatic insects, especially mosquito larvae (Louton et al 1996, Campos 2013 and bugs (Kovac 2000) in the internodes, bugs and beetles on the leaves and culms sheaths (coverings on the stems of bamboo; Kovac 2000), and fruit flies on fresh bamboo shoots (Hancock and Drew 1999). In the Himalaya, arthropod abundance is the limiting resource for insectivorous birds, and songbird richness peaked where arthropod abundance was the highest (Ghosh-Harihar 2013, Supriya et al 2020. These studies were restricted to forests, however, and such relationships in bamboo stands are yet to be explored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poles apart: the structure and composition of the bird community in bamboo in the Eastern Himalaya

Srinivasan

2023

Preprint

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Bamboos (Poaceae: Bambuseae) are a unique and diverse group of plants (> 1500 species) that are found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Various birds, mammals, and insects use bamboo either directly or indirectly, and some species are obligate bamboo specialists. For instance, several species of Neotropical birds are found in bamboo alone. However, the mechanisms underlying dependence on/associations with bamboo are almost entirely unknown. I studied bird communities in bamboo and rainforest across two seasons in the Eastern Himalaya, where I explored a possible mechanism for bird associations with bamboo - dietary resource specialization. I calculated use of bamboo versus rainforest by bird species and described the structure and composition of the bird and arthropod communities in both habitats and seasons. I provide the first systematic evidence of bamboo specialist bird species from the Eastern Himalaya. Although the species richness of birds and arthropods in both habitats and seasons did not vary starkly, I found that the composition of bird and arthropod communities in both habitats and both seasons to be distinct. Interestingly, I found arthropod communities in different substrates of bamboo to also be distinct. Bird specialization in bamboo in the Eastern Himalaya could be because of their dietary specialization to the unique arthropods found in bamboo. The results from this study emphasise the importance of bamboo in the Eastern Himalaya and provide baseline information that might aid in conservation.

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Competition with insectivorous ants as a contributor to low songbird diversity at low elevations in the eastern Himalaya.

Cited by 4 publications

References 85 publications

The effect of selective logging on microclimates, arthropod abundance and the foraging behaviour of Eastern Himalayan birds

The effect of selective logging on microclimates, arthropod abundance and the foraging behaviour of Eastern Himalayan birds

Abiotic niche predictors of long-term trends in body mass and survival of Eastern Himalayan birds

Poles apart: the structure and composition of the bird community in bamboo in the Eastern Himalaya

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