Avian studies and research opportunities in the Luquillo Experimental Forest: A tropical rain forest in Puerto Rico

Wunderle, Joseph M.; Arendt, Wayne J.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.07.035

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Forty‐two bird species were detected in this study (Table ), comprising 42% of the reported avifauna inhabiting the LM (Wunderle & Arendt, ). Thirty‐seven species were observed during the historical surveys, in which the most widespread species were the Scaly‐naped Pigeon ( Patagioenas squamosa , n = 103/105 sites) and the Bananaquit ( Coereba flaveola , n = 101/105), whereas six species, for example, the Bridled Quail‐Dove ( Geotrygon mystacea ) and the Puerto Rican Vireo ( Vireo latimeri ) were detected at just one site.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

Have bird distributions shifted along an elevational gradient on a tropical mountain?

Campos‐Cerqueira

Arendt

Wunderle

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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An upward shift in elevation is one of the most conspicuous species responses to climate change. Nevertheless, downward shifts and, apparently, the absences of response have also been recently reported. Given the growing evidence of multiple responses of species distributions due to climate change and the paucity of studies in the tropics, we evaluated the response of a montane bird community to climate change, without the confounding effects of land‐use change. To test for elevational shifts, we compared the distribution of 21 avian species in 1998 and 2015 using occupancy models. The historical data set was based on point counts, whereas the contemporary data set was based on acoustic monitoring. We detected a similar number of species in historical (36) and contemporary data sets (33). We show an overall pattern of no significant change in range limits for most species, although there was a significant shift in the range limit of eight species (38%). Elevation limits shifted mostly upward, and this pattern was more common for upper than lower limits. Our results highlight the variability of species responses to climate change and illustrate how acoustic monitoring provides an easy and powerful way to monitor animal populations along elevational gradients.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

Have bird distributions shifted along an elevational gradient on a tropical mountain?

Campos‐Cerqueira

Arendt

Wunderle

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Following the manual inspection of all positive detections to eliminate any false positives, we were left with 194 recordings from 20 sites with the RF model, 67 recordings from 12 sites with the TH model and 51 recordings from 14 sites RF/TH combined approach (Table ). False‐positive detections were mainly associated with the vocalization of Bananaquit Coereba flaveola , the most common and widespread bird species in the study area (Wunderle & Arendt ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving distribution data of threatened species by combining acoustic monitoring and occupancy modelling

2016

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Running title: Acoustic monitoring and occupancy modeling Summary 1. Conservation of threatened species relies on predictions about their spatial distribution; however, it is often difficult to detect species in the wild. The combination of acoustic monitoring to improve species detectability and statistical methods to account for false negative detections can improve species distribution estimates. 2. Here, we combine a novel automated species-specific identification approach with occupancy models that account for imperfect detectability to provide a more accurate species distribution map of the Elfin-woods warbler Setophaga angelae, a rare, elusive, and threatened bird species. We also compared three automated species identification/validation approaches to determine which approach provided occupancy estimates similar to manual validation of all recordings. Acoustic data were collected along three elevational gradients (95 to 1074 m a.s.l) in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico. The detection matrices acquired through automated species-specific identification models and manual validations of all recordings were used to create occupancy models. 3. Although this species has a wider distribution than previously reported, it depends on Palo Colorado forest cover and it mainly occurs between 600 and 900 m a.s.l. Unbiased and precise occupancy models were developed by using automated species identification models and only manually validating 4% of the recordings. 4. Our approach draws on the strength of two active areas of ecological research: acoustic monitoring and occupancy modeling. Our methods provide an effective and efficient way to translate the enormous amount of acoustic information collected with passive acoustic monitoring devices into meaningful ecological data that can be applied to understand and map the distribution of rare, elusive and threatened species.

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“…Because of the increasing biodiversity toward the tropics (Eldridge 1998), MeHg uptake in the Luquillo forest food web may be distributed across a high faunal biomass so that the concentration at a given trophic level (feeding guild) is lowered. Birds at LEF have high areal biomass density, and energy flows through the avifaunal community at a rate that is at least double that in temperate forests (Wunderle and Arendt 2011). This doubled activity implies a relative dilution of available MeHg by one-half, so biomass dilution may also be a factor contributing to low bird blood Hg in this ecosystem.…”

Section: Resolving the Paradoxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resolving a paradox—high mercury deposition, but low bioaccumulation in northeastern Puerto Rico

et al. 2019

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At a "clean air" trade winds site in northeastern Puerto Rico, we found an apparent paradox: atmospheric total mercury (THg) deposition was highest of any site in the USA Mercury Deposition Network, but assimilation into the local food web was quite low. Avian blood THg concentrations (n = 31, from eight species in five foraging guilds) ranged widely from 0.2 to 32 ng g−1 (median of 4.3 ng g−1). Within this population, THg was significantly greater at a low-elevation site near a wetland compared to an upland montane site, even when the comparison was limited to a single species. Overall, however, THg concentrations were approximately an order of magnitude lower than comparable populations in the continental U.S. In surface soil and sediment, potential rates of demethylation were 3 to 9-fold greater than those for Hg(II)-methylation (based on six radiotracer amendment incubations), but rates of change of ambient MeHg pools showed a slight net positive Hg(II)-methylation. Thus, the resolution of the paradox is that MeHg degradation approximately keeps pace with MeHg production in this landscape. Further, any net production of MeHg is subject to frequent flushing by high rainfall on chronically wet soils. The interplay of these microbial processes and hydrology appears to shield the local food web from adverse effects of high atmospheric mercury loading. This scenario may play out in other humid tropical ecosystems as well, but it is difficult to evaluate because coordinated studies of Hg deposition, methylation, and trophic uptake have not been conducted at other tropical sites.

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Avian studies and research opportunities in the Luquillo Experimental Forest: A tropical rain forest in Puerto Rico

Cited by 19 publications

References 69 publications

Have bird distributions shifted along an elevational gradient on a tropical mountain?

Have bird distributions shifted along an elevational gradient on a tropical mountain?

Improving distribution data of threatened species by combining acoustic monitoring and occupancy modelling

Resolving a paradox—high mercury deposition, but low bioaccumulation in northeastern Puerto Rico

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