Foraging ecology of woodpeckers in lowland Malaysian rain forests

Abstract

We investigated the foraging ecology of 13 species of woodpecker in logged and unlogged lowland rain forest at two forest reserves in West Malaysia (Pasoh Forest Reserve and Sungai Lalang Forest Reserve). The parameters perch diameter and microhabitat/substrate type explained more variation in the data than other parameters, and effectively divided the guild into two groups: (1) 'conventional' -species that excavated frequently, used relatively large perches, and foraged on snags and patches of dead wood, and (2) 'novel' -species that used smaller perches and microhabitats that are available in tropical forests on a year-round basis (e.g. external, arboreal ant/termite nests and bamboo). These novel resources may explain, in part, the maintenance of high woodpecker diversity in tropical rain forests.

The Foraging Tactics of Chestnut-winged Babbler (Stachyris erythroptera) and Abbott's Babbler (Malacocincla abbotti) in a Lowland Rainforest, Malaysia

“…Observations were done between 0730 and 1830 h. Observations on each foraging bird were made using 8 × 42 binoculars (Omicron -Estavia), recorded on voice recorder (Olympus - and later transcribed to data spreedsheets. Birds were observed as long as they could be kept in view, but only the initial (independent) observations, first sighting of an individual bird, were used for statistical analysis to avoid problems with non-independent data (Styring & Zakaria 2004). At least 30 independent observations were taken for each bird species to represent the observed behaviour accurately (MacNally 1994;Morrison 1984;Somasundaram & Vijayan 2008).…”

“…Birds are good bio-indicators in the study of the impacts of forest disturbance (Karr et al 1990). Studies on foraging ecology of birds provide an understanding of the ways in which ecologically different species partition their resources in a habitat and may reveal how guilds of forest birds respond to disturbance (Styring & Zakaria 2004). Resource partitioning reduces the competition rates by decreasing the amount of niche overlaps between the competitor species (Wiens 1989).…”

Life after logging: reconciling wildlife conservation and production forestry in Indonesian Borneo

“…the larger bodied woodpeckers that foraged either on dead wood patches or on snags. Species that seems more tolerant to the effects of timber harvest, with the possible exception of Hemicircus concretus, coincide with what Styring and Hussin (2004b) name 'novel' woodpeckers, i.e. species feeding on substrates such as bamboo, arboreal ants' nests and leaves of evergreen broadleaved vegetation.…”

“…Multivariate analysis of foraging behaviour indicates that sympatric Bornean woodpeckers primarily differentiate in microhabitat (where they forage) and only secondarily in the foraging techniques or search strategies (how they forage). Important factors in microhabitat differentiation are foraging height, substrate diameter, use of dead or live wood, tree diameter, and the use of non-wood substrates like lianas, rattans and ant or termite nests (Lammertink 2004, b;Styring 2002b;Styring & Hussin 2004b). In contrast 60 | Birds with the popular perception of woodpeckers, only two Bornean species are dead wood specialists.…”

“…Principal component analyses by Styring and Hussin (2004b) indicate that these species have in common that they feed either high in the canopy on substrates with high diameter, or low to the ground on medium to large substrates. Together with two Picus species (P. mentalis and P. puniceus) Styring and Hussin classifi ed these as 'conventional' woodpeckers, i.e.…”