Minimum area requirements of breeding birds in fragmented woodland of Central Argentina

Abstract

The breeding avifauna of 25 woodland fragments (0.85–280 ha) was studied between 1996 and 2004 in Córdoba, Argentina. A distinctive feature of the avifauna of the fragments studied is the low area requirement of most of the species. Of the 54 woodland species recorded, 32 (59.3%) require c. 1 ha and 43 (79.6%) needed no more than 3 ha. Also noticeable is the relatively high number of individuals of most of the species. Both characteristics suggest a good tolerance to fragmentation. However, nine species (16.7%), the area‐sensitive species, need fragments of 80 ha or larger. Moreover, eight resident species have apparently become extinct in the fragments that were studied, including the five large species that originally inhabited the area. Proportional odds and log linear models were fitted to relate the minimum area requirements of these species to various ecological characteristics (body size, diet, habitat use, migratory status, and nest type). Closed nesters, resident, woodland exterior, and medium‐size species were the groups requiring larger areas. No apparent pattern was observed between area requirements and diet. A recent law prohibits woodland removal, which is a positive step towards the conservation of the fragments. The results suggest that as long as the present amount of woodland is maintained, the situation of the avifauna of the fragments is relatively secure, at least in the short term.

Multi-Season Regional Analysis of Multi-Species Occupancy: Implications for Bird Conservation in Agricultural Lands in East-Central Argentina

“…On the other hand, most insectivore gleaners seemed unaffected by crops, contrary to our prediction. However this supports idea that those that perceive the landscape at finer scales could benefit from local spatial heterogeneity within agricultural landscapes [64], or persist in small patches of vegetation [74] and linear habitats such as field borders with natural vegetation. The latter might be more available in our roadside surveys [1,18,75].…”

Patch and landscape responses of bird abundance to fragmentation in agroecosystems of east-central Argentina

“…However, it was less abundant in study landscapes characterized by small patches and therefore lesser forest interior area. Furthermore, Dardanelli et al (2006) differentiated use of forest interior and edge by some of the same species in our study and reported contrasting patterns to results by Sosa (2008). These differences may be due to the fact that while these other studies were also conducted in the Espinal region, the composition of tree species differed from our study area.…”

Ecological traits modulate bird species responses to forest fragmentation in an Amazonian anthropogenic archipelago

“…In fragmented landscapes, the area of remaining patches is the main driver of species patch occupancy (Keinath et al., ). Area‐sensitive species can no longer occur in patches below a minimum spatial requirement, and are consequently relegated to fewer patches than species requiring smaller areas (Dardanelli, Nores, & Nores, ). Thus, the proportion of patches occupied in a landscape has often been used as a measure of species vulnerability to habitat fragmentation (e.g., Meyer, Fründ, Lizano, & Kalko, ; Thornton, Branch, & Sunquist, ; Wang, Thornton, Ge, Wang, & Ding, ).…”