Impact of flowering on bird community dynamics in some central Victorian eucalypt forests

McGoldrick, J. M.; MacNally, Ralph C.

doi:10.1046/j.1440-1703.1998.00252.x

Cited by 51 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Thus, most honeyeaters are highly mobile generalist foragers well adapted to the heterogeneous flowering landscape over which nectar is produced (Ford et al, 1979;McGoldrick and MacNally, 1998). In our study, this was demonstrated by 77% of all within-population bird movements being beyond nearest neighbours, and 68% of observed movements leaving the local population.…”

Section: Pollen Vectorsmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Consequences of pollination by nectar-feeding honeyeaters A major feature of bird-pollinated plants in temperate southern Australia is a patchy, asynchronous flowering of different species, which is a principal driver of mass nomadism of nectarivorous birds among regions and habitats (McGoldrick and MacNally, 1998). Thus, most honeyeaters are highly mobile generalist foragers well adapted to the heterogeneous flowering landscape over which nectar is produced (Ford et al, 1979;McGoldrick and MacNally, 1998).…”

Section: Pollen Vectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the other major bird-pollinated regions of South Africa and Central America have only around 4% of their floras bird pollinated (Bawa, 1990;Orians and Milewski, 2007). Observations of highly mobile behaviour by these Australian birds (Collins and Rebelo, 1987;Ramsey, 1989;McGoldrick and MacNally, 1998), and estimates of components of the mating system for bird-pollinated plants (Sampson, 1998;Coates et al, 2007), suggest potentially novel genetic consequences from wide pollen dispersal and promiscuity in these plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contrasting impacts of pollen and seed dispersal on spatial genetic structure in the bird-pollinated Banksia hookeriana

Krauss

Barrett

et al. 2008

Heredity

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In plants, pollen-and seed-dispersal distributions are characteristically leptokurtic, with significant consequences for spatial genetic structure and nearest-neighbour mating. However, most studies to date have been on wind-or insectpollinated species. Here, we assigned paternity to quantify effective pollen dispersal over 9 years of mating, contrasted this to seed dispersal and examined their effects on finescale spatial genetic structure, within the bird-pollinated shrub Banksia hookeriana (Proteaceae). We used 163 polymorphic amplified fragment length polymorphism markers to assess genetic structure and pollen dispersal in a spatially discrete population of 112 plants covering 0.56 ha. Spatial autocorrelation analysis detected spatial genetic structure in the smallest distance class of 0-5 m (r ¼ 0.025), with no significant structure beyond 8 m. Experimentally quantified seed-dispersal distances for 337 seedlings showed a leptokurtic distribution around a median of 5 m, reaching a distance of 36 m. In marked contrast, patterns of pollen dispersal for 274 seeds departed strikingly from typical near-neighbour pollination, with a distribution largely corresponding to the spatial distribution of plants. We found very high multiple paternity, very low correlated paternity and an equal probability of siring for the 50 closest potential mates. Extensive pollen carryover was demonstrated by multiple siring in 83 of 86 (96.5%) two-seeded fruits. Highly mobile nectar-feeding birds facilitate this promiscuity through observed movements that were effectively random. As the incidence of bird-pollination is markedly greater in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region than elsewhere, our results have broad and novel significance for the evolution and conservation for many species in Gondwanan lineages.

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Section: Pollen Vectorsmentioning

confidence: 51%

Section: Pollen Vectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contrasting impacts of pollen and seed dispersal on spatial genetic structure in the bird-pollinated Banksia hookeriana

Krauss

Barrett

et al. 2008

Heredity

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“…Data are from six major survey programmes (Table 1). In each programme, ‡ 2 survey rounds were conducted in both the 'cooler' (May-September) and the warmer (October-April) parts of the year to capture seasonal variation in the avifaunas (McGoldrick & Mac Nally, 1998). The regional-scale sites were surveyed between 1995 and 1997.…”

Section: Sources Of Bird Occurrence Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Collapse of an avifauna: climate change appears to exacerbate habitat loss and degradation

Nally

Bennett

Thomson

et al. 2009

Diversity and Distributions

164

197

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Aim We characterized changes in reporting rates and abundances of bird species over a period of severe rainfall deficiency and increasing average temperatures. We also measured flowering in eucalypts, which support large numbers of nectarivores characteristic of the region.Location A 30,000‐km2 region of northern Victoria, Australia, consisting of limited amounts of remnant native woodlands embedded in largely agricultural landscapes.Methods There were three sets of monitoring studies, pitched at regional (survey programmes in 1995–97, 2004–05 and 2006–08), landscape (2002–03 and 2006–07) and site (1997–2008 continuously) scales. Bird survey techniques used a standard 2‐ha, 20‐min count method. We used Bayesian analyses of reporting rates to document statistically changes in the avifauna through time at each spatial scale.Results Bird populations in the largest remnants of native vegetation (up to 40,000 ha), some of which have been declared as national parks in the past decade, experienced similar declines to those in heavily cleared landscapes. All categories of birds (guilds based on foraging substrate, diet, nest site; relative mobility; geographical distributions) were affected similarly. We detected virtually no bird breeding in the latest survey periods. Eucalypt flowering has declined significantly over the past 12 years of drought.Main conclusions Declines in the largest woodland remnants commensurate with those in cleared landscapes suggest that reserve systems may not be relied upon to sustain species under climate change. We attribute population declines to low breeding success due to reduced food. Resilience of bird populations in this woodland system might be increased by active management to enhance habitat quality in existing vegetation and restoration of woodland in the more fertile parts of landscapes.

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“…For these species, a reserve system must not only provide breeding and wintering areas (often widely separated), but there must be continuity of habitat between reserves. For food nomads the requirements are more complex as required food resources shift in space and time with changing weather patterns, season, and from year to year (Collins and Newland 1986;Ramsey 1989;Mac Nally and McGoldrick 1997;McGoldrick and Mac Nally 1998).…”

Section: Conservation and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) in Western Australian Eucalypt Woodlands I: Resource Allocation Among Species in the Great Western Woodland During Spring

Recher

Calver

Davis³

2016

Australian Zoologist

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Nectar-feeding birds are commonly the most abundant birds in Australian eucalypt forests and woodlands, where they play a key role as pollinators of native plants. Among the nectar-feeders, honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) are particularly aggressive and may exclude other birds from the habitats they occupy thereby affecting the composition of avian communities and the distribution of species on a landscape scale. Such behaviour has cascading effects on ecosystems, changing the abundances and kinds of planteating arthropods. A comprehensive knowledge of the ecology of honeyeaters is therefore basic to the conservation management of Australia's natural environments. In this paper, we describe the foraging ecology of honeyeaters in the Great Western Woodland (GWW) during the spring, comparing the use of resources between species and locations. Species of honeyeaters in the GWW differ morphologically, and in social and dispersive behaviour, but aggregate in multi-species flocks on blossoming eucalypts (Eucalyptus spp.), the main source of nectar. There are differences among the species of honeyeaters in the eucalypts frequented as nectar sources, with these differences reflecting differences among species in habitat. Species also differ in foraging manoeuvres (the way food is taken), substrates, and heights, as well as the plant species visited when feeding on foods other than nectar (e.g., lerp, arthropods, and fruit). The use of substrates and foraging manoeuvres differed between locations. Differences in foraging ecology between locations were primarily related to differences in flowering phenology and vegetation structure (e.g., height, type of bark) and floristics, which in turn affected the food resources available to honeyeaters. Our observations support arguments that the long-term conservation of nectar-feeders cannot be achieved by relying on a fragmented system of widely dispersed conservation reserves. This is especially true in an era of accelerated climate change. Instead, a landscape scale, if not a continental scale, approach to ecosystem conservation that emphasizes habitat connectivity is required.

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Impact of flowering on bird community dynamics in some central Victorian eucalypt forests

Cited by 51 publications

References 56 publications

Contrasting impacts of pollen and seed dispersal on spatial genetic structure in the bird-pollinated Banksia hookeriana

Contrasting impacts of pollen and seed dispersal on spatial genetic structure in the bird-pollinated Banksia hookeriana

Collapse of an avifauna: climate change appears to exacerbate habitat loss and degradation

Ecology of Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) in Western Australian Eucalypt Woodlands I: Resource Allocation Among Species in the Great Western Woodland During Spring

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