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Area mediated shifts in bird community composition : A study on a fragmented Mediterranean grassland

Caplat, Paul LU and Fonderflick, Jocelyn (2009) In Biodiversity and Conservation 18(11). p.2979-2995
Abstract

The effects of habitat fragmentation on birds have often been studied in forest specialist species. Here we aimed at comparing the response of open habitat birds within a range of habitat specialization. The study area was a Mediterranean pseudo-steppe, designated as important for conservation yet fragmented by tree encroachment. We defined bird species dependency on steppe-like habitat by a correspondence analysis, allowing us to distinguish between specialists, generalists and scrubland species. We studied species abundance in relation to fragment area, testing whether species representation in fragments differed from those in continuous habitat. This analysis showed a contrasted response to fragment size between "open habitat"... (More)

The effects of habitat fragmentation on birds have often been studied in forest specialist species. Here we aimed at comparing the response of open habitat birds within a range of habitat specialization. The study area was a Mediterranean pseudo-steppe, designated as important for conservation yet fragmented by tree encroachment. We defined bird species dependency on steppe-like habitat by a correspondence analysis, allowing us to distinguish between specialists, generalists and scrubland species. We studied species abundance in relation to fragment area, testing whether species representation in fragments differed from those in continuous habitat. This analysis showed a contrasted response to fragment size between "open habitat" specialist species and generalist ones. Open habitat species were under-represented in the smallest fragments, while generalist were over-represented in small fragments in comparison to their distribution in continuous habitats. We discuss how these results can be linked to species habitat requirements. We find that scrubland species seem to be favoured by encroachment of woody vegetation, as they are able to explore and use the wooded matrix; however specialist species are restricted to open patches and are sensitive to a reduction in patch size. This allows us to predict how different species can exhibit a different sensitivity to habitat fragmentation.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Breeding birds, Community composition, Conservation biology, Habitat generalist, Habitat specialist, Mediterranean mountain, Species distribution
in
Biodiversity and Conservation
volume
18
issue
11
pages
17 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:70350618929
ISSN
0960-3115
DOI
10.1007/s10531-009-9620-8
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
a599e646-1cf7-4662-806e-cfa4e7cb8e76
date added to LUP
2016-04-22 08:38:44
date last changed
2022-01-30 02:49:47
@article{a599e646-1cf7-4662-806e-cfa4e7cb8e76,
  abstract     = {{<p>The effects of habitat fragmentation on birds have often been studied in forest specialist species. Here we aimed at comparing the response of open habitat birds within a range of habitat specialization. The study area was a Mediterranean pseudo-steppe, designated as important for conservation yet fragmented by tree encroachment. We defined bird species dependency on steppe-like habitat by a correspondence analysis, allowing us to distinguish between specialists, generalists and scrubland species. We studied species abundance in relation to fragment area, testing whether species representation in fragments differed from those in continuous habitat. This analysis showed a contrasted response to fragment size between "open habitat" specialist species and generalist ones. Open habitat species were under-represented in the smallest fragments, while generalist were over-represented in small fragments in comparison to their distribution in continuous habitats. We discuss how these results can be linked to species habitat requirements. We find that scrubland species seem to be favoured by encroachment of woody vegetation, as they are able to explore and use the wooded matrix; however specialist species are restricted to open patches and are sensitive to a reduction in patch size. This allows us to predict how different species can exhibit a different sensitivity to habitat fragmentation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Caplat, Paul and Fonderflick, Jocelyn}},
  issn         = {{0960-3115}},
  keywords     = {{Breeding birds; Community composition; Conservation biology; Habitat generalist; Habitat specialist; Mediterranean mountain; Species distribution}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{11}},
  pages        = {{2979--2995}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Biodiversity and Conservation}},
  title        = {{Area mediated shifts in bird community composition : A study on a fragmented Mediterranean grassland}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9620-8}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s10531-009-9620-8}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}