On Bird Species Diversity. II. Prediction of Bird Census from Habitat Measurements

MacArthur, Robert H.; MacArthur, John W.; Preer, James R.

doi:10.1086/282219

Cited by 249 publications

(148 citation statements)

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“…Not surprisingly, avian diversity along the Panama Canal showed a response to plant species richness, probably because of associated higher vegetation complexity, higher arthropod diversity and diversity of ecological niches (MacArthur et al, 1962;MacArthur, 1964;Terborgh & Weske, 1969;Ricklefs & Schluter, 1993;Siemann et al, 1998;Gillespie & Walter, 2001;Waltert et al, 2003Waltert et al, , 2005Hurlbert, 2004;Tews et al, 2004). Higher rainfall, relating to higher plant diversity in the Panama Canal region, can be a good indicator of ecosystems with a higher productivity (Kaspari et al, 2000;Clark et al, 2001;Hawkins et al, 2003Hawkins et al, , 2005Santiago & Mulkey, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used data on plant species richness as a possible correlate of bird diversity because more species-rich forests tend to have greater foliage height diversity and the latter is recognized to be positively correlated with avian species richness (MacArthur et al, 1962;MacArthur, 1964). In the Panama Canal region, vegetation richness is thought to be associated with the structural diversity of the habitat (Condit, 1998;Pyke et al, 2001;DeWalt et al, 2003).…”

Section: Tree Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental correlates of avian diversity in lowland Panama rain forests

Rompré

Robinson

Desrochers

et al. 2007

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim The composition of communities is known to be influenced by biogeographical history, but also by local environmental conditions. Yet few studies have evaluated the relative importance of the direct and indirect effects of multiple factors on species diversity in rich Neotropical forests. Our study aims to assess drivers of change in local bird species richness in lowland tropical rain forests.Location Thirty-two physiographic subregions along the corridor of the Panama Canal, Panama.Methods We mapped the distributions of all forest-dwelling bird species and quantified the environmental characteristics of all subregions, including mean annual rainfall, topographic complexity, elevational variability, forest age and forest area. Plant species richness, believed to be correlated with structural complexity, was estimated by interpolation through kriging for subregions where data were unavailable.Results The study region has a strong rainfall gradient across a short distance (65 km), which is also accompanied by steep gradients in plant and bird species diversity. Path analysis showed that precipitation strongly affected plant species diversity, which in turn affected avian diversity. Forest age and topography affected bird diversity independently of plant diversity. Forest area and its proportion occurring in the largest two fragments of each subregion (habitat configuration) were also positive correlates of bird species richness.Main conclusions Our results suggest that plant species richness, known to be influenced in part by biogeographical history and geology, also affects bird species assemblages locally. We provide support for the hypothesis that bird species richness increases with structural complexity of the habitat. Our analysis of the distributions of the region's most disturbance-sensitive bird species showed that subregions with more rainfall, more complex topography and older forests harboured not only richer communities but also more sensitive species; while subregions with the opposite characteristics usually lacked large fractions of the regional forest bird community and hosted only common, widely distributed species. Results also emphasize the importance of preserving forest diversity from habitat loss and fragmentation, and confirm that larger, continuous forest tracts are necessary to maintain the rich avian diversity in the region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tree Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental correlates of avian diversity in lowland Panama rain forests

Rompré

Robinson

Desrochers

et al. 2007

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Some important early research (Mayr 1926;Lack & Venables 1939) observed correlations between vegetation structure and density or productivity of animals. Subsequent influential studies of breeding-site selection formalized this idea under the assumption, usually implied through correlation, that organisms consider mainly vegetation structural cues in their habitat choices (MacArthur et al 1962;Hilden 1965).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social information trumps vegetation structure in breeding-site selection by a migrant songbird

et al. 2008

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To maximize fitness, organisms must assess and select suitable habitat. Early research studying birds suggested that organisms consider primarily vegetation structural cues in their habitat choices. We show that experimental exposure to singing in the post-breeding period provides a social cue that is used for habitat selection the following year by a migrant songbird, the black-throated blue warbler (Dendroica caerulescens). Our experimental social cues coerced individuals to adopt territories in areas of very poor habitat quality where individuals typically do not occur. This indicates that social information can override typical associations with vegetation structure. We demonstrate that a strong settlement response was elicited because post-breeding song at a site is highly correlated with reproductive success. These results constitute a previously undocumented, but highly parsimonious mechanism for the inadvertent transfer of reproductive (public) information from successful breeders to dispersers. We hypothesize that post-breeding song is a pervasive and reliable cue for species that communicate vocally, inhabit temporally autocorrelated environments, produce young asynchronously and/or abandon territories after reproductive failure.

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“…The presence or absence of a particular bird species in a given forest area can be affected by local forest heterogeneity, and this has led to a widespread conviction that variation in habitat structure is paramount in determining its occupancy by birds (MACARTHUR et al 1962, TERBORGH 1985.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of forest heterogeneity on occurrence and abundance of the scale-backed antbird, Hylophylax poecilinotus (Aves: Thamnophilidae), in the Amazon forest

Cintra

Cancelli

2008

Rev. Bras. Zool.

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Recently, a significant number of studies on neotropical forest bird communities have focused on factors influencing their richness, abundance, and habitat selection. However, few of them have considered populations or individual species, and how habitat structure affects their distribution and abundance. In this study, we investigated how the combined effects of some forest structure components affect the occurrence and abundance of a resident bird species, the scale-backed antbird Hylophylax poecilinotus (Cabanis, 1847). We tested the null hypothesis of no difference between the variation in forest structure components at locations where birds occurred and at locations where they did not. In a pristine Terra Firme forest at the Ducke Reserve, Manaus, we recorded bird occurrence and abundance using mist nets in 56 transects (1 km long each) within a 9 x 9 km trail grid covering 6400 ha. Also in the same 56 transects, we set 50 x 50 m plots and recorded the following seven components of forest structure and landscape: 1) canopy opening, 2) leaf litter, 3) tree abundance, 4) logs, 5) snags, 6) streams, and 7) elevation. We evaluated their effects on avian occurrence and abundance by using models of Multiple Logistic Regression (for bird occurrence) and Multiple Linear Regression (for bird abundance). The results suggested that H. poecilinotus occurred significantly more often in lowland areas, in areas located farther away from streams, and in areas bearing thicker leaf litter. Hylophylax poecilinotus was also more abundant in lowland areas and in areas located further away from streams. Overall, the results indicated that environmental heterogeneity produced by variation in forest structure components affects habitat use by this bird species in the Amazon forest.

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On Bird Species Diversity. II. Prediction of Bird Census from Habitat Measurements

Cited by 249 publications

References 0 publications

Environmental correlates of avian diversity in lowland Panama rain forests

Environmental correlates of avian diversity in lowland Panama rain forests

Social information trumps vegetation structure in breeding-site selection by a migrant songbird

Effects of forest heterogeneity on occurrence and abundance of the scale-backed antbird, Hylophylax poecilinotus (Aves: Thamnophilidae), in the Amazon forest

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