Sugarcane and Eucalyptus plantation equally limit the movement of two forest‐dependent understory bird species

Abstract

Habitat fragmentation results in landscape configuration, which affects the species that inhabit it. As a consequence, natural habitat is replaced by different anthropogenic plantation types (e.g. pasture, agriculture, forestry plantations and urban areas). Anthropogenic plantations are important for biodiversity maintenance because some species or functional groups can use it as a complementary habitat. However, depending on plantation permeability, it can act as a barrier to the movement of organisms between habitat patches, such as forest fragments, reducing functional connectivity for many species. Anthropogenic plantations are becoming the most common land use and cover type in the Anthropocene and biodiversity conservation in fragmented landscapes requires information on how different plantation types affect the capacity of the species to move through the landscape. In this study, we evaluated the influence of the type and structure of plantations on the movement of two forest-dependent understory bird speciesplain antvireo (Dysithamnus mentalis) and flavescent warbler (Myiothlyps flaveola)within a highly fragmented landscape of Atlantic Forest hotspot. Knowing that forestry plantation is assumed to be more permeable to dependent forest bird species than open ones, we selected six study areas containing a forest fragment and surrounding plantation: three with sugarcane plantation and three with Eucalyptus sp. plantation. We used playback calls to stimulate the birds to leave forest fragments and traverse the plantations. Control trials were also carried out inside the forest fragments to compare the distances crossed. We observed that individuals moved longer distances inside forest than between plantation types, which demonstrate that plantations do constrict the movements of both species. The two plantation types equally impeded the movements of the species, suggesting the opposite of the general assumption that forestry plantations are more permeable. Our results indicate that, for generalist species, plantation type does not matter, but its presence negatively impacts movement of these bird species. We highlight that plantations have negative influences on the movements of common bird species, and discuss why this is important when setting conservation priorities.

Challenges in Engaging Birdwatchers in Bird Monitoring in a Forest Patch: Lessons for Future Citizen Science Projects in Agricultural Landscapes

“…Professionals joining forces with citizen scientists for long-term bird monitoring in this region is still a promising partnership (e.g., Şekercioğlu 2012). We again emphasize that there is little knowledge about bird movement through forest patches and within an agricultural matrix in the Neotropics (e.g., Marini 2010;Silveira et al 2016;Giubbina et al 2018). Thus, data gathered over a larger extent of the agricultural matrix and in other forest patches nearby our target patch, which could be possible only through incorporation of community citizen scientists, could provide both complementary and baseline data on bird movement, supplementing our current project investigating restoration ecology efforts in the region.…”

Towards inclusion of genetic diversity measures into IUCN assessments: a case study on birds

“…When we analysed the isolated effect of each variable, we found the lowest significant mean values of H E occurred in bird species that naturally occur in forests and are therefore highly dependent on forest ecosystems. This result evidences the importance of forests as places of shelter and breeding for birds (e.g., LaManna and Martin, 2016;Selwood et al, 2017;Giubbina et al, 2018), so that species that have no access to food or reproductive resources in these environments may experience negative effects. These results are important at a time when many of the major forest ecosystems worldwide -especially in the neotropics-are experiencing severe disturbances (Hansen et al, 2013) which directly affect bird species (e.g., Pereira et al, 2014).…”

Matrix type and landscape attributes modulate avian taxonomic and functional spillover across habitat boundaries in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…4), suggest that the type of adjacent matrix (and likely edge contrast) can affects the magnitude of edge effects on bird communities. Although in some cases open matrix such as sugarcane monoculture can also limit local spillover movements by birds from forests (Giubbina et al 2018), our observations on higher replacements of species and functions among forest edges with direct contact with eucalyptus stands may indirectly suggest a greater capacity of eucalyptus plantations to connect forest patches compared to pastures, facilitating inter-patch movement. Other studies indicate that landscapes containing matrix habitats dominated by tree plantations can minimize avian diversity loss (mainly forest species) within forest remnants (Lindenmayer et al 2008, Zurita and Bellocq 2010, Barbosa et al 2017, Ruffell et al 2017.…”

“…Available studies focusing on spillover processes primarily address plants (Dodonov et al 2013, Alignier et al 2014) and insects (Martello et al 2016), and mainly in annual croplands (Blitzer et al 2012, Tscharntke et al 2012. Regarding forest-matrix boundaries, some experimental studies on bird spillover movements have been conducted using playbacks (Awade and Metzger 2008, Tomasevic and Estades 2008, Giubbina et al 2018) and radiotelemetry (translocation experiments, Biz et al 2017, Cornelius et al 2017. Other observational studies have also assessed spillover processes in vertebrate assemblages by measuring and comparing species occupancy across adjacent habitats (Hodgson et al 2007, Hurst et al 2013, Craig et al 2015, Boesing et al 2018a, Barros et al 2019a).…”