Assessing woodpeckers as indicators of bird diversity and habitat structure in managed forests

Menon, Tarun; Shahabuddin, Ghazala

doi:10.1007/s10531-021-02164-0

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Even though many of the randomly drawn species groups performed better as an indicator than titmice, in France, the species sets included in those random species groups cannot be observed as easily as titmice. Similarly, other commonly used indicator bird species groups, such as woodpeckers (Menon & Shahabuddin, 2021; Mikusiński et al, 2001) or cuckoos (Møller et al, 2017), are relatively less abundant and diverse, and more habitat specialized than many titmouse species, potentially making them less suitable indicators for forest bird abundances. Titmice have many features of a suitable ecological indicator group: cost‐efficient observations, well‐known biology, conspicuous behavior, almost global distribution (Caro & O'Doherty, 1999; del Hoyo et al, 2007; Gill et al, 2005; Landres et al, 1988), and ecological traits broadly overlapping with those of a wide range of the target species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using indicator species has yielded promising results in community ecology (Caro & O'Doherty, 1999 ; Fleishman et al, 2005 ; Menon & Shahabuddin, 2021 ; Sattler et al, 2013 ). The most effective ecological indicators are usually species that are closely related to the target species (Fleishman et al, 2005 ; Sattler et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Møller et al ( 2017 ) observed a maximum of two titmouse species, while titmice are more diverse in Europe (del Hoyo et al, 2007 ). Additionally, other bird species groups, such as woodpeckers (family Picidae), are suggested to be efficient ecological indicators for bird species diversity (Menon & Shahabuddin, 2021 ; Mikusiński et al, 2001 ). Even with no covariation between titmouse species richness and overall species richness, abundances can still covary.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, identifying individuals to species level is mainly easy due to the variation of plumage color (Eck & Martens, 2006 ; del Hoyo et al, 2007 ), body size (Alatalo & Moreno, 1987 ; Eck & Martens, 2006 ; del Hoyo et al, 2007 ), and crestedness among species (Eck & Martens, 2006 ; del Hoyo et al, 2007 ). Overall, the ecology of titmice makes them potentially a more efficient indicator group for forest bird abundance than, for example, woodpeckers or cuckoos, which are less abundant and diverse and consist of mainly specialist species (Menon & Shahabuddin, 2021 ; Mikusiński et al, 2001 ; Møller et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Titmice are a better indicator of bird density in Northern European than in Western European forests

Kajanus

Forsman

Vollstädt

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Population sizes of many birds are declining alarmingly and methods for estimating fluctuations in species’ abundances at a large spatial scale are needed. The possibility to derive indicators from the tendency of specific species to co‐occur with others has been overlooked. Here, we tested whether the abundance of resident titmice can act as a general ecological indicator of forest bird density in European forests. Titmice species are easily identifiable and have a wide distribution, which makes them potentially useful ecological indicators. Migratory birds often use information on the density of resident birds, such as titmice, as a cue for habitat selection. Thus, the density of residents may potentially affect community dynamics. We examined spatio‐temporal variation in titmouse abundance and total bird abundance, each measured as biomass, by using long‐term citizen science data on breeding forest birds in Finland and France. We analyzed the variation in observed forest bird density (excluding titmice) in relation to titmouse abundance. In Finland, forest bird density linearly increased with titmouse abundance. In France, forest bird density nonlinearly increased with titmouse abundance, the association weakening toward high titmouse abundance. We then analyzed whether the abundance (measured as biomass) of random species sets could predict forest bird density better than titmouse abundance. Random species sets outperformed titmice as an indicator of forest bird density only in 4.4% and 24.2% of the random draws, in Finland and France, respectively. Overall, the results suggest that titmice could act as an indicator of bird density in Northern European forest bird communities, encouraging the use of titmice observations by even less‐experienced observers in citizen science monitoring of general forest bird density.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Titmice are a better indicator of bird density in Northern European than in Western European forests

Kajanus

Forsman

Vollstädt

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The weak effects of green cover in our study points to the importance of street g trees in providing fruit to the frugivores: they appear to be able to utilise fruiting resources even in densely inhabited residential areas located away from urban woodlands and parks. Further, birds could also be responding to green cover over much larger scales than 200 m radius, as seen in numerous forest studies, or landscape-scale effects on birds may weaken under heavy urbanization, as observed in wetland habitats in Delhi (Menon and Shahabuddin 2021;Rawal et al 2021). Frugivores such as the Red-vented Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul and the Rose-ringed Parakeet are far more adaptable, being found in residential gardens and fallows in addition to parks and suburban forests; expectedly their visitation rates did not show much correlation with green cover.…”

Section: Landscape Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-scale Patterns and Drivers of Bird Visitation on Street Fig Trees in Delhi, India

Rawal

Chatrath

Shahabuddin

2022

Preprint

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Street trees have been used as a means of mitigating the negative effects of urbanization on biodiversity, particularly bird fauna. Despite their widely acknowledged benefits for birds, studies so far have been largely limited to relatively coarse scales, with an understanding of the role of local environments and individual tree characters lacking. We studied the patterns of bird visitation at individual street Ficus (fig) trees, providers of keystone resources in tropical landscapes, in Delhi, India, and their drivers at different scales (tree characteristics, local and landscape variables). Three common fig species were surveyed for bird visitors across 3 sites with varying urban patterns. Fig trees were found to be a relatively common street tree choice, and the 106 trees surveyed were visited by 29 bird species, including 7 obligate frugivores. We found that reducing green cover in surrounding landscape and increasing noise did not deter birds from visiting these trees. Instead, variables at finer scales like tree canopy diameter, tree species and local resource density had sizable and significant effects on both species richness and abundance of bird visitors. Our results highlight how bird assemblages, guilds and individual species respond differently to a range of ecological variables, and an understanding of these responses at different scales is useful for maximising the value of street trees for urban birds. Thus, coarse-scale studies can provide insights into bird diversity of city landscapes, but micro-scale studies are important in helping make fine scale management decisions, like selection of street trees.

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Micro-scale patterns and drivers of bird visitation on street fig trees in Delhi, India

Rawal

Chatrath

Shahabuddin³

2023

Acta Oecologica

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Assessing woodpeckers as indicators of bird diversity and habitat structure in managed forests

Cited by 10 publications

References 36 publications

Titmice are a better indicator of bird density in Northern European than in Western European forests

Titmice are a better indicator of bird density in Northern European than in Western European forests

Micro-scale Patterns and Drivers of Bird Visitation on Street Fig Trees in Delhi, India

Micro-scale patterns and drivers of bird visitation on street fig trees in Delhi, India

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