Living the High Life: Remarkable High‐Elevation Records of Birds in an East African Mountain Range

Hoek, Yntze van der; Faida, Emmanuel; Musemakweli, Valens; Tuyisingize, Deogratias

doi:10.1002/bes2.1620

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Tropical bird communities have been documented shifting upslope in Southeast Asia (Freeman & Class Freeman, 2014) and the Neotropics (Forero‐Medina, Joppa, & Pimm, 2011; Freeman, Scholer, et al, 2018; Neate‐Clegg et al, 2018) but few studies have focused on Afrotropical birds (Dulle et al, 2016; van der Hoek et al, 2020). In this study, we found that a bird community within the Albertine Rift shifted its mean elevation upslope by 1.87 m per year, a rate slightly greater than that found in similar studies (Forero‐Medina, Terborgh, et al, 2011; Freeman, Scholer, et al, 2018) and amounting to 28 m over the 15‐year study period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, we utilized a 15‐year dataset of bird point counts along an elevational gradient in the Afrotropics to estimate changes in the distributions of bird populations over time and in relation to interannual fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. Elevational gradients in the Afrotropics are particularly understudied compared to the Neotropics (Forero‐Medina, Terborgh, et al, 2011; Freeman, Scholer, et al, 2018; Neate‐Clegg et al, 2018) and Southeast Asia (Boyce, Freeman, Mitchell, & Martin, 2015; Freeman & Class Freeman, 2014; Peh, 2007), making this one of the first investigations into observed shift rates in this biogeographical realm (but see Dulle et al, 2016; van der Hoek, Faida, Musemakweli, & Tuyisingize, 2020). Here, we investigated whether 51 bird species have (a) shifted their mean elevation over time, (b) shifted their elevational range limits over time, (c) shifted their elevation in relation to temperature and precipitation, and (d) whether shift rates were associated with key ecological traits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A disconnect between upslope shifts and climate change in an Afrotropical bird community

Neate‐Clegg

O’Brien

Mulindahabi

et al. 2020

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Climate change threatens to push species to higher elevations and eventual extinction. Birds, in particular, are shown to be shifting upslope in the Neotropics and Southeast Asia. Yet previous studies have lacked the temporal resolution to investigate distributional dynamics over time in relation to climatic fluctuations, especially in the understudied Afrotropics. Here, we used 15 years of point-count data from across an elevational gradient (1,767-2,940 m) in Rwanda, to assess elevational shift rates and dynamics in a community of Afrotropical birds. In general, species shifted their elevations upslope by 1.9 m/year, especially at their lower elevational limits which shifted by 4.4 m/year. Importantly, these shifts occurred despite the fact that local temperature and precipitation showed little trend over the study period. Moreover, the interannual distributions of few species were associated with temperature, suggesting that temperature played little direct role in determining elevational distributions of birds. Instead, upslope shifts may be more related to incremental shifts in habitat and resources which lag behind decades of increased temperature in the region. Precipitation appeared to have more of an effect than temperature in determining interannual elevational changes, allowing species to expand their ranges in years of higher rainfall. Our results highlight the need to understand the mechanisms driving upslope shifts as they occur throughout the tropics. It will be critical for montane regions of the tropics to preserve contiguous blocks of forest across elevational gradients to allow wildlife to shift unimpeded.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A disconnect between upslope shifts and climate change in an Afrotropical bird community

Neate‐Clegg

O’Brien

Mulindahabi

et al. 2020

Conservat Sci and Prac

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“…Indeed, our estimate of 134.7 trees per hectare is well below the interquartile range of tree densities for either tropical moist or dry forest (lower quartile cut‐off >250 trees per hectare for either forest type, Crowther et al, 2015). In addition, but related to low tree availability at high elevations near the treeline ecotone, there is a potentially low abundance and richness of excavators (avifauna) in VNP (van der Hoek et al, 2021; van der Hoek, Faida, et al, 2020; van der Hoek, Gaona, et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple biotic and abiotic factors drive spatial variation in tree cavity availability. First, tree cavity availability has been linked to woodpecker abundance and diversity (Styring & Zakaria, 2004), though the evidence is skewed toward temperate ecosystems of the northern hemisphere, and excavator richness itself may be indicative of the diversity of the wider forest bird community (Drever et al, 2008; van der Hoek, Faida, et al, 2020; van der Hoek, Gaona, et al, 2020). Second, tree cavity density may vary across landscapes because of variations in tree species and characteristics (Schepps et al, 1999; Zheng et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tree cavities, either excavated by woodpeckers (Picidae) or other birds or created by mechanical damage and fungal decay, are useful for many animals as substrates for shelter or nests (Cockle, Martin, & Wesołowski, 2011; Cockle, Martin, & Wiebe, 2011; Trzcinski et al, 2021; van der Hoek et al, 2017; van der Hoek, Faida, et al, 2020; van der Hoek, Gaona, et al, 2020). Cavity users may be classified as excavators (e.g., aforementioned woodpeckers) or secondary cavity users (e.g., parrots [Psittaciformes]), the latter depending on existing cavities (Martin & Eadie, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Density and characteristics of tree cavities inside and outside Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Niringiyimana

Nzarora

Twahirwa

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Tree cavities, formed by animal excavation or processes of fungal decay and mechanical damage, may provide nesting, roosting, or resting opportunities to many invertebrate and vertebrate species. Although cavity availability has been linked to patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning elsewhere, there have been few such studies in the Afrotropics. Here, we present a baseline survey of cavity availability inside the high elevation (2200-3714 m) Afromontane forest ecosystems of Volcanoes National Park (VNP), Rwanda. We aimed to provide such reference data in the form of summary statistics on cavity density and characteristics in a collection of 400 m 2 plots that together cover 8.8 ha inside and 0.68 ha outside VNP. We also explored the relative importance of fungal decay vs. excavators in the formation of cavities, tested for the relative role of standing dead trees and living trees as cavity substrates, considered differences in diameter and height between cavity-bearing trees and trees without cavities, tested whether cavity density varies across elevation, and determined the orientation of cavity entrances. We found 109 cavities in 52 cavity-bearing trees (dominated by Hagenia abyssinica) inside VNP, for a density of 12.4 cavities and 5.9 cavity-bearing trees per hectare, and none outside the park. More cavities were decay-formed (n = 90) than excavated (n = 19), and though most cavities were found in living trees (n = 44), the number of cavities in dead trees (n = 8) was high relative to dead tree substrate availability. We also found that cavity-bearing trees were larger than those without cavities, that excavated cavities were predominantly oriented toward the southeast and decay-formed cavities to the northeast, and that cavity density declined with increases in elevation. Our results show that large and dead trees of particular species are important cavity substrates that need to be given attention in conservation and management, as is clearly illustrated by the lack of cavities in the highly managed Eucalyptus stands outside VNP.

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Living the High Life: Remarkable High‐Elevation Records of Birds in an East African Mountain Range

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

A disconnect between upslope shifts and climate change in an Afrotropical bird community

A disconnect between upslope shifts and climate change in an Afrotropical bird community

Density and characteristics of tree cavities inside and outside Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

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