Increasing awareness of avian ecological function

Şekercioǧlu, Çaǧan H.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2006.05.007

Cited by 934 publications

(771 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…However, the majority of studies lacked replicated experimental treatment setups to detect causation which is needed to conclusively attribute declines in rodent abundance and crop damage to increased avian predator abundance. This result concurs with example Singleton & Petch (1994), Wood &Fee 2003 andSekercioglu (2006) who have questioned the effectiveness of avian predators as biological control agents.…”

Section: Impact Of Avian Predators and Experimental Designsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…The presence of avian predators creates less human-wildlife conflict than mammalian/reptilian predators (Stein et al, 2010), avian predators seems to be more resilient to extirpation and are able to respond more quickly than mammalian/reptilian predators to prey population fluctuations (Sekercioglu 2006). The high mobility of avian predators permits a quick response to spatially scattered rodent populations (Anderson & Erlinge 1977;Sekercioglu 2006), while in contrast, mammal predators are often sedentary and respond numerically to locally increased pest rodent populations (Anderson & Erlinge 1977). This suggests that there will be limited ability to quickly attract mammalian predators to areas of high rodent impact.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are avian predators effective biological control agents for rodent pest management in agricultural systems?

et al. 2016

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Worldwide rodent pests are of significant economic and health importance.Controlling rodent pests will, therefore, not only benefit food security, but also human and animal health. While rodent pests are most often chemically controlled, there is increased interest in biological control through avian predation. A rich body of research has addressed the impact of avian predators on wild rodent populations, but little is known about the effectiveness of avian predators as biological control agents of rodent pests in agricultural systems. In this study we systematically reviewed research that investigated different aspects of avian predation on rodent pest populations in order to increase our understanding of the impact and effectiveness of avian predation on rodent pests. Several avian predators (Tyto alba, Elanus axillaris Falco tinnunculus, F. cenchroides, Bubo bengalensis, Buteo rufinus) were commonly cited in the biological control of rodents; however, barn owls (T. alba) are the most cited species (86% of studies). We found some support that the use of avian predators produced positive, measurable effects where increased presence of avian predators tended to lower rodent pest numbers, resulting in lower crop damage. However, our review highlighted several shortcomings related to research on avian predation of rodent pests. First, research concerning rodent pest control through avian predation was limited (1.86 articles per year). Secondly we found that studies lack statistical rigor to detect and measure change in rodent pest species abundance. Finally, the majority of studies were short term and therefore not able to evaluate long term sustainable rodent pest population suppression. We suggest that current shortcomings could be adequately addressed with control-treatment studies that quantitatively investigate the effects of avian predation on rodent pest populations and agricultural impact.Such research could help develop recommendations regarding the use of avian predators in rodent pest management.

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Section: Impact Of Avian Predators and Experimental Designsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are avian predators effective biological control agents for rodent pest management in agricultural systems?

et al. 2016

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“…This ecosystemic function is very important for ecological restoration, as specialized frugivores generally occur in low density or do not occur at all in altered landscapes [9,13,54].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Bird Assemblages under Different Subtropical Forest Restoration Strategies in Brazil: Passive, Nucleation and High Diversity Plantation

Vogel

Campos

Bechara

2015

Tropical Conservation Science

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Ecological restoration encourages management for the complexity and heterogeneity of habitats, which are crucial for avian fauna structure. Two-year-old bird assemblages were evaluated based on diversity parameters of three different ecological restoration technologies applied in southern Brazil: passive restoration (PR), nucleation (NC) and high diversity plantation (HD). Richness, abundance and diversity were compared using ANOVA factorial design (three treatments x four seasons, with six samplings per season). The highest richness was observed for NC (49 ± 2.45 SD species) and the lowest richness occurred in the HD treatment (37 ± 3.14 SD species), with a similar statistical pattern for abundance and diversity (NC>PR>HD). NC responded favorably to the hypotheses of dynamic equilibrium, heterogeneity and habitat complexity, which are the probable mechanisms that influence primarily assemblage richness. Due to the presence of exclusive species for each treatment, we recommend the application of a mix of the different techniques tested to maximize the number of habitats and their interactions with birdlife.Keywords: neotropical forest, ecological restoration, avian fauna. ResumoA restauração ecológica estimula o manejo da complexidade e heterogeneidade de habitats, os quais são decisivos para a estruturação da avifauna. Foram avaliadas assembleia de aves com dois anos de idade segundo parâmetros de diversidade de três diferentes tecnologias de restauração ecológica aplicadas no sul do Brasil: restauração passiva (PR) nucleação (NC), e plantio de alta diversidade (HD). Os parâmetros de riqueza, abundância e diversidade foram comparados por meio de ANOVA em arranjo fatorial (três tratamentos x quatro estações com seis amostragens por estação). A maior riqueza observada foi constatada na NC (49 ± 2,45 espécies) e a menor riqueza ocorreu no tratamento PAD (37 ± 3,14 espécies) com um padrão estatístico semelhante para abundância e diversidade. NC respondeu favoravelmente às hipóteses do equilíbrio dinâmico, heterogeneidade e complexidade de habitats, sendo estes os prováveis mecanismos que influenciaram principalmente na riqueza da assembleia. Devido à presença de espécies exclusivas a cada um dos tratamentos, recomenda-se a aplicação conjunta das técnicas testadas para maximizar o número de habitats e suas interações com a avifauna.Palavras chave: floresta neotropical, restauração ecológica, avifauna.

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“…We ran analyses pooling forest and non-forest bird species, and then treating these groups in isolation because they are likely to show contrasting responses to forest extent and quality [50]. Moreover, non-forest species play little role in the functioning of forest ecosystems [33].…”

Section: (B) Habitat and Trophic Nichementioning

confidence: 99%

Using avian functional traits to assess the impact of land-cover change on ecosystem processes linked to resilience in tropical forests

et al. 2016

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Vertebrates perform key roles in ecosystem processes via trophic interactions with plants and insects, but the response of these interactions to environmental change is difficult to quantify in complex systems, such as tropical forests. Here, we use the functional trait structure of Amazonian forest bird assemblages to explore the impacts of land-cover change on two ecosystem processes: seed dispersal and insect predation. We show that trait structure in assemblages of frugivorous and insectivorous birds remained stable after primary forests were subjected to logging and fire events, but that further intensification of human land use substantially reduced the functional diversity and dispersion of traits, and resulted in communities that occupied a different region of trait space. These effects were only partially reversed in regenerating secondary forests. Our findings suggest that local extinctions caused by the loss and degradation of tropical forest are non-random with respect to functional traits, thus disrupting the network of trophic interactions regulating seed dispersal by forest birds and herbivory by insects, with important implications for the structure and resilience of human-modified tropical forests. Furthermore, our results illustrate how quantitative functional traits for specific guilds can provide a range of metrics for estimating the contribution of biodiversity to ecosystem processes, and the response of such processes to land-cover change

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Increasing awareness of avian ecological function

Cited by 934 publications

References 76 publications

Are avian predators effective biological control agents for rodent pest management in agricultural systems?

Are avian predators effective biological control agents for rodent pest management in agricultural systems?

Early Bird Assemblages under Different Subtropical Forest Restoration Strategies in Brazil: Passive, Nucleation and High Diversity Plantation

Using avian functional traits to assess the impact of land-cover change on ecosystem processes linked to resilience in tropical forests

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