Abstract

SANCHEZ-MONTENEGRO, Juan Pablo; PEREZ-CASTILLO, Katherine; GARCES-RESTREPO, Mario Fernando  and  GIRALDO, Alan. BIRD ASSEMBLE ASSOCIATED TO TWO LANDSCAPE UNITS IN A TROPICAL DRY FOREST. Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas [online]. 2017, vol.21, n.2, pp.115-130. ISSN 0123-3068.  https://doi.org/10.17151/bccm.2017.21.2.8.

The transformation of ecosystems through human activities can affect the biological and ecological processes of bird species, and can even lead to groups of species becoming isolated due to deforestation, causing a decrease in genetic diversity and the extirpation of species. To evaluate the composition and structure of bird communities associated with the tropical dry forest ecosystem in the Guarinocito jurisdiction (La Victoria, Caldas) we identified two landscape units: a forest area (dry forest matrix) and an interfered area (matrix of lands), presenting human intervention such as roads and grassland systems. Point counts of 10 min long were carried out in each unit to survey birds between 06:00 and 09:00 hours and between 16:00 and 18:00 hours. Mist nets were set up to complete the species record. Three four-day long sampling trips were carried out in April 2013, November 2013, and October 2014 to consider the seasonal variability that affects the environmental conditions in the study area. The sampling representativeness was evaluated using non-parametric estimates. All observed or captured individuals were assigned to a trophic guild in order to evaluate the community structure in the two established landscape units. A total of 1,005 individuals from 36 families and 127 species were recorded. The most abundant species were Thraupis episcopus (7.36%) and Sicalis flaveola (6.77%). Sample representativeness ranged from 68.18% (Jack 2) to 86.03% (Bootstrap). Although no significant differences between the two landscape units were detected (THutchinson=1.59, p=0.81), species diversity was higher in the forested area than in the intervened area. The dominant trophic guild in both landscape units was that of insectivorous birds. No significant differences in bird community trophic structure were found between the two landscape units (X 2 =14.60, p=0.33). The size, shape, or intervention history of the fragments could have resulted in a lack of differences in the structure and composition of the avifauna in the two landscape units.

Keywords : Dry forest; birds; assemblage; composition; structure.

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