Abstract

STEVENSON, Pablo R. et al. Bird species in primary and secondary forests of Cueva de los Guacharos National Park, Colombia. Actu Biol [online]. 2022, vol.44, n.116, e1.  Epub May 24, 2022. ISSN 0304-3584.  https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.acbi.v44n116a01.

Cueva de los Guacharos was the first National Park created in Colombia, but few published information is available on its biological diversity. We used point counts along transects for a total of 382 days from 2005 to 2009, to estimate bird species richness and composition in Andean forests, Mixed Sub-Andean forests and Black Oak Sub-Andean forests. In addition, transects were undertaken in both primary and secondary Sub-Andean forests. We report the occurrence of 202 bird species from 39 families. Bird assemblages in mixed primary and secondary Sub- Andean Forest showed the highest species diversity, independent of the successional stage. A non-parametric ordination (based on species abundance) showed three main groupings: Andean forests (plants dominated by white oaks: Quercus humboldtii), Sub-Andean Black Oak forests (dominated by black oaks Colombobalanus excelsa, Wettinia fascicularis, and Matudaea colombiana), and mixed Sub-Andean forests (including both primary and secondary, with a variety of plant species). The most frequently registered bird species in Andean Forest was Calaptes rivolii. Zimmerius chrysops was the dominant species in Black Oak forests. In both mixed primary and secondary Sub-Andean forests the composition was similar with several species in the list of the most frequently observed: Henicorhina leucophrys, Rupicola peruvianus, Ocreatus underwoodii, Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster and Cyanocorax yncas. This study emphasizes that bird communities in Sub-Andean forests are highly diverse, and secondary forest show similar ensembles to primary forests, when they are protected and located near primary forests. We hope that this study will help to carry out future monitoring programs of bird species in the park.

Keywords : Avian communities; Colombian oak forests; forest type; visual and vocal records; protected area.

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