Relationship between Survival Rate of Avian Artificial Nests and Forest Vegetation Structure along a Tropical Altitudinal Gradient on Mount Cameroon

Nana, Eric Djomo; Sedláček, Ondřej; Doležal, Jiří; Dančák, Martin; Altman, Jan; Svoboda, Miroslav; Majeský, Ľuboš; Hořák, David

doi:10.1111/btp.12262

Cited by 19 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Furthermore, we found that shrub cover was the most important parameter of the vegetation structure of our three types of pine forests that governs the mobbing reaction. Other studies demonstrated that the response of birds to mobbing calls was influenced by forest structure [3], with a positive correlation to tree density and height [34,78]. In our study, the response to mobbing calls was not significantly affected by tree density and height.…”

Section: The Effect Of Forest Structure On Mobbing Behaviorcontrasting

confidence: 45%

The Effect of Pine Forest Structure on Bird-Mobbing Behavior: From Individual Response to Community Composition

Dagan

Izhaki

2019

Forests

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Pine-forest bird communities are affected by the forest structure and the density and composition of its understory vegetation. In this study, we focused on the combined effects of vegetation structure and caller identity on the mobbing behavior of birds in breeding and non-breeding seasons. We examined the effect of the understory structure and the density of three types of conifer forest habitats on bird behavior by broadcasting three different types of mobbing calls: Those of two all-year resident species in the state Israel (Sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephala Gmelin and great tit Parus major L.) and one European species (coal tit Periparus ater L.), which is absent from these habitats. The mobbing call attracted 689 birds of 17 species, which represented 31% to 95% of the forest bird species that we detected in point counts at the same study plots. Bird reactions to mobbing calls were affected by the status and season, depending on forest type. Our results show that responses were stronger in forests with developed understory in comparison to forests with no understory, especially in winter. The highest number of responders and highest species richness of responders were observed in winter. P. major calls generated more interspecific than intraspecific responses, whereas S. melanocephala calls generated equal levels of inter- and intraspecific reactions. Both species generated different response patterns across the three forest habitat types. The response level of responders is higher when the mobbing calls are issued by local species rather than the P. ater. In winter, the response of non-resident species was higher than of resident species. Based on these results, we encourage the managers to maintain well-established understory vegetation, with special attention to the shrubs layer, to promote species diversity and rich behavioral responses of birds in the conifer forests in the eastern Mediterranean region.

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Section: The Effect Of Forest Structure On Mobbing Behaviorcontrasting

confidence: 45%

The Effect of Pine Forest Structure on Bird-Mobbing Behavior: From Individual Response to Community Composition

Dagan

Izhaki

2019

Forests

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“…There was a negative relationship between artificial‐bird‐nest predation rate and elevation on the Atlantic slopes of Costa Rica, but the highest rates of artificial‐nest predation occurred at middle elevations where many altitudinal migrants breed (Boyle, ). In Cameroon, although survival of artificial cup‐shaped nests placed in shrubs decreased at high elevation, there was no relationship between elevation and predation risk for nests placed about 10 cm above ground or nests placed directly on the ground (Djomo Nana et al ., ).…”

Section: Hypotheses For the Factors Driving Altitudinal Migrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altitudinal migration: ecological drivers, knowledge gaps, and conservation implications

et al. 2018

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Animal migration has been the subject of intensive research for more than a century, but most research has focused on long-distance rather than short-distance migration. Altitudinal migration is a form of short-distance migration in which individuals perform seasonal elevational movements. Despite its geographic and taxonomic ubiquity, there is relatively little information about the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence altitudinal migratory behaviour. Without this information, it is difficult to predict how rapid environmental changes will affect population viability of altitudinal migrants. To synthesize current knowledge, we compiled literature on altitudinal migration for all studied taxa, and identified the leading hypotheses explaining this behaviour. Studies of animal altitudinal migration cover many taxonomic lineages, with birds being the most commonly studied group. Altitudinal migration occurs in all continents except for Antarctica, but about a third of the literature focused on altitudinal migration in North America. Most research suggests that food and weather are the primary extrinsic drivers of altitudinal migration. In addition, substantial individual-level variation in migratory propensity exists. Individual characteristics that are associated with sex, dominance rank, and body size explain much of the variation in migratory propensity in partially migratory populations, but individual-level correlates are poorly known for most taxa. More research is needed to quantify the effects of habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and climate change on altitudinal migrants. Demographic studies of individually marked populations would be particularly valuable for advancing knowledge of the cascading effects of environmental change on migratory propensity, movement patterns, and population viability. We conclude our review with recommendations for study designs and modelling approaches that could be used to narrow existing knowledge gaps, which currently hinder effective conservation of altitudinal migratory species.

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“…Animal-biotope associations have been frequently studied for birds (Fuller, 2012), for which the vegetation reflects habitat quality (MacArthur & MacArthur, 1961;MacArthur, MacArthur, & Preer, 1962). Habitats offer them sources of food as well as places for nesting or shelters from predators (Cody, 1981;Djomo Nana et al, 2015;Martin, 1993). Due to climatic limitations in the temperate zone, biotope types change sharply along elevational gradients (e.g., Hemp, 2006), which leads to obvious changes in composition of avian communities (Able & Noon, 1976).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest structure determines spatial changes in avian communities along an elevational gradient in tropical Africa

Hořák

Ferenc

Sedláček

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim To test if tree species richness and forest structure drive spatial variation in avian communities along a tropical elevation gradient and to present information about the role of detailed forest parameters. Location A 2,000‐m long elevational gradient of tropical forest on Mt. Cameroon, west‐central Africa. Taxon Birds and trees. Methods We performed bird censuses and vegetation mapping at the same plots across six forested sites at elevations of 350, 650, 1,100, 1,500, 1,850, and 2,200 m a.s.l., with 16 plots per elevation. We tested the effects of elevation, forest structure and tree diversity on the species richness, functional diversity and β‐diversity of birds (Bray–Curtis dissimilarity). We used conditional inference trees based on random forests (RF) to investigate these relationships across all elevation sites as well as within elevations. Results Both tree and bird species richness declined monotonically with elevation. Vegetation structure correlated with elevation, and all vegetation attributes significantly differed among elevations. The RF explained 70% of the variance in avian species richness, with the most important predictors being elevation, proportion of dead trees, tree species richness and herb layer coverage. We found that elevation (and shrub layer) was a particularly important predictor of avian functional diversity. We identified no important predictor of bird species richness after standardization within elevations, and the proportion of dead trees was the sole important predictor of functional diversity. Within‐elevation β‐diversity in avian community composition was determined by the dissimilarity of the tree community and differences in leaf area index, solar radiation and spatial distance. The functional dissimilarity was best explained by leaf area index. Main conclusions Apart from elevation itself, spatial distance even within elevations correlated with compositional and functional variation among avian assemblages. Forest structural traits can have a significant influence on distribution of birds. Thus, gaps in the spatial distribution of species such as along elevations might be caused by fine‐scale recognition of suitable habitats.

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Relationship between Survival Rate of Avian Artificial Nests and Forest Vegetation Structure along a Tropical Altitudinal Gradient on Mount Cameroon

Cited by 19 publications

References 48 publications

The Effect of Pine Forest Structure on Bird-Mobbing Behavior: From Individual Response to Community Composition

The Effect of Pine Forest Structure on Bird-Mobbing Behavior: From Individual Response to Community Composition

Altitudinal migration: ecological drivers, knowledge gaps, and conservation implications

Forest structure determines spatial changes in avian communities along an elevational gradient in tropical Africa

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