Vegetation composition and structure influences bird species community assemblages in the highland agricultural landscape of Nyandarua, Kenya

Ndang'ang'a, Paul K.; Njoroge, John B.M.; Githiru, Mwangi

doi:10.2989/00306525.2013.860929

Cited by 20 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In contrast, granivore bird species were more common in farmlands than any other feeding guild. This could be attributable to availability of food resources associated with farmlands since substantial amounts of weed-seed grains are held in cultivations and fallow lands that may provide food especially for seedeaters, canaries, doves, sparrows, and weavers [9], [18]. This is supported by Gray et al [39] findings that richness and abundance of insectivores and granivores tend to decrease and increase respectively in response to human-induced disturbance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study provides insights into influence of land-use type on occurrence avian foraging and habitat guilds in natural forest, plantation forest, and farmlands in East African. The study's focus on habitat guilds and foraging guilds is quite relevant since many of the most important ecosystem services that birds provide result from their foraging behavior [18,40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was used as a basis for placing all recorded bird species into seven foraging guilds. Only the "major" diets were used in placing birds into guild classifications following Gray et al, [39] that was adapted by Ndang'ang'a et al [18]. These are carnivores (vertebrates), nectarivores (nectar), frugivores (fruits), insectivore (insects), granivores (seeds), omnivores (insects, leaves), and herbivores (vegetable materials, e.g.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, birds play pivotal ecological roles both in forest and farmland ecosystems, notably pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control [14][15][16]. Birds also act as mobile links that transfer energy both within and among ecosystems [17,18] that are crucial for maintaining ecosystem function and resilience [18].…”

Section: International Journal Of Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of Land-Use Type on Forest Bird Community Composition in Mount Kenya Forest

Mahiga

Webala

Mware

et al. 2019

International Journal of Ecology

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Few studies have explored how human land uses influence and support persistence of forest biodiversity in central Kenya. In the case of the Mount Kenya ecosystem, farmlands and plantation forests are significant land-use types. Using point counts, we assessed bird communities in natural forests, plantation forests, and farmlands in the Nanyuki Forest Block, Western Mount Kenya. Bird point counts were undertaken during two sampling periods (wet and dry season). Compared to farmlands and plantation forest, natural forest had the highest overall avian species richness and relative species richness of all except one forest-dependent foraging guild (granivores) and nonforest species, which occurred frequently only on farmlands. Plantation forest had the lowest relative richness of all avian habitat and foraging guilds. Conversely, specialist forest-dependent species mainly occurred in the structurally complex remnant natural forest. Our study underscores the importance of remnant natural forests for the persistence and conservation of forest biodiversity and risks posed by replacing them with plantation forests and farmlands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: International Journal Of Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of Land-Use Type on Forest Bird Community Composition in Mount Kenya Forest

Mahiga

Webala

Mware

et al. 2019

International Journal of Ecology

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“…Habitat features that may significantly affect forest bird populations include the composition and structure of the canopy (Ndang'ang'a, Njoroge, & Githiru, 2013), density of understory vegetation (Matiku, Bennun, & Nemeth, 2000;, and the availability and abundance of food resources (e.g., insects and seeds). Birds that forage near or on the forest floor should be positively affected by more open understory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Responses of Bird Species to Habitat Condition in a Coastal Kenyan Forest Reserve

Banks

Jackson

Gagić

et al. 2017

Tropical Conservation Science

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The management of assemblages of species across many taxa is a common concern in conservation. Consequently, the use of one or a few surrogate or indicator species to represent an entire assemblage has become an increasingly important tool in conservation science. However, conservation schemes based on the needs of one or two focal species often fail to account for individualistic responses of larger assemblages of species. Data from bird point counts along with vegetation characteristics from a coastal tropical dry forest in Kenya that is subject to elephant disturbance were used to explore the differential responses of bird species to environmental conditions in a forest reserve where wildlife management includes both endangered birds and mammals. Results revealed that even birds with similar foraging habits had idiosyncratic responses to both environmental traits and elephant disturbance. While overall species responded to important characteristics such as percent canopy cover and leaf litter depth, individualistic responses of different species trait diversity defied easy characterization of optimal forest management schemes. Taken together, our analyses highlight the difficulty in basing the development of management plans for entire assemblages of species on the response of a single or a few species. Implications for wildlife conservation in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and similar forest reserves are discussed, emphasizing the need for a better understanding of individual species' responses to forest conditions.

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The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project

Hudson

Newbold

Contu

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

218

227

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The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

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Vegetation composition and structure influences bird species community assemblages in the highland agricultural landscape of Nyandarua, Kenya

Cited by 20 publications

References 31 publications

Influence of Land-Use Type on Forest Bird Community Composition in Mount Kenya Forest

Influence of Land-Use Type on Forest Bird Community Composition in Mount Kenya Forest

Differential Responses of Bird Species to Habitat Condition in a Coastal Kenyan Forest Reserve

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project

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