The Relationship between Habitat Breadth, Habitat Position, and Abundance in Forest and Woodland Birds along a Continental Gradient

Nally, Ralph Charles Mac

doi:10.2307/3565895

Cited by 33 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…, 2006) – there is little to suggest that these improvements would yield significantly different results from those reported here. Just as others have found weak links between local abundance and habitat parameters such as niche and range size, despite limitations in their approach (Mac Nally, 1989; Kenfack et al. , 2007), we too feel confident that the absence of a pattern is not due to any methodological shortcomings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Tropical dry forest trees and the relationship between local abundance and geographic range

Williams

Viers²,

Schwartz³

2010

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim To test the macroecological principle that a positive relationship exists between local abundance and geographic range size for tree communities in the tropical dry forest. Location Two tropical dry forest (TDF) regions on the Pacific coast of Mexico: one near Chamela, Jalisco; the other near Huatulco, Oaxaca. Methods We recorded species presence and relative abundance of trees and lianas from over 40 locales in each of the study regions using transects across an elevational gradient. We then compared the field data with occurrence data from national and online databases to examine how local patterns of abundance relate to putative geographic range areas and latitudinal breadth. Results We found no significant correlation between abundance and range size. Overall, many more locally abundant species had small ranges than large ones. We found that most species occupy the majority of the TDF range north of Colombia, and those species present in South America occupy the majority of that continent’s TDF range as well. This pattern was independent of local abundance. We also found no relationship between range size and local niche breadth as measured by elevation, or between local abundance and distance to the range centre. Main conclusions The macroecological tenet that posits a positive correlation between local abundance and geographic range size does not appear to hold for TDF trees. The finding that many locally abundant species had narrow ranges also suggests that dry forest endemics may be particularly well adapted to local conditions and make important contributions to community structure. We hypothesize that the absence of abundant species with large ranges is due to opposing environmental constraints that prevent a species from thriving everywhere.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Tropical dry forest trees and the relationship between local abundance and geographic range

Williams

Viers²,

Schwartz³

2010

Journal of Biogeography

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“…One kilometre was dictated by the shape of the smallest site, Angle‐ sea [I, So]. The 35 m transect width is the maximum distance that most species can be reliably detected in these types of forest (Bell & Ferrier 1985; Mac Nally 1989; Recher 1989). For each visit to a site, the strip was randomly positioned within the 80–100 ha habitat plot.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of flowering on bird community dynamics in some central Victorian eucalypt forests

McGoldrick

MacNally

1998

Ecological Research

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Many species of Eucalyptus in Australia provide copious amounts of nectar during their reproductive seasons. The nectar is used by many animal species but especially by birds, insects and some bats, which act as pollinators. One of the major features of eucalypt flowering in southern Australia is the patchy, asynchronous flowering of different species, which appears to drive mass nomadism of nectarivorous birds among regions and among habitats. Here we explore whether flowering asynchrony or climate is primarily responsible for the influxes and effluxes of vast numbers of nectarivorous birds in central Victoria, Australia. By using a structured sampling program, we show that winter flowering by red ironbark Eucalyptus tricarpa is the most likely agent controlling avian‐nectarivore dynamics rather than climatic differences among regions. Densities and species richness of nectarivores, and numbers of nectarivory events, are all closely related to measures of flowering intensity. However, non‐ nectarivores, such as insectivores and granivores, show no relationships with either habitat or region. We discuss how dependence on a patchily distributed but highly rewarding resource such as nectar influences population densities and community structure in birds.

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“…In those studies, data were collected for 20 ha plots set within extensive areas of a variety of habitat types, with four-long (2 h) seasonal surveys over an annual cycle (Mac Nally, 1989;Mac Nally, 1995b). To this extent, the data differ in terms of the coverage within the year, but also by being relatively 'old'.…”

Section: Is There a Characteristic Avifauna In The Coastal Moonah Woomentioning

confidence: 99%

The avifaunas of some fragmented, periurban, coastal woodlands in south-eastern Australia

Yeoman

Nally

2005

Landscape and Urban Planning

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The Relationship between Habitat Breadth, Habitat Position, and Abundance in Forest and Woodland Birds along a Continental Gradient

Cited by 33 publications

References 25 publications

Tropical dry forest trees and the relationship between local abundance and geographic range

Tropical dry forest trees and the relationship between local abundance and geographic range

Impact of flowering on bird community dynamics in some central Victorian eucalypt forests

The avifaunas of some fragmented, periurban, coastal woodlands in south-eastern Australia

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