Browsing by Author "Reid, S"

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    Conservation of temperate forest birds in Chile
    (2002) Reid, S; Cornelius, C; Barbosa, O; Meynard, C; Silva-García, C; Marquet, PA
    We characterize the bird assemblage of an isolated relict temperate rainforest (Santa Ines) in terms of its structure, composition and dynamics. The relict character and long-term isolation of this forest remnant, immersed in a matrix of semiarid scrub, provide a natural experiment to assess the consequences of long-term isolation and forest area reduction for temperate bird species. Bird surveys were conducted in a forest fragment and the surrounding scrub matrix between April 1999 (austral autumn) and October 2000 (austral spring) on a seasonal basis. Within the forest fragment we distinguished two microhabitat types: creeks and areas far from creeks (i.e. slopes). A total of 36 species were recorded in the study site, of which 21 were inside the relict forest. Highest bird abundance and richness were recorded during winter and spring, and these were always higher in creek plots rather than slope plots. Comparisons between this assemblage and those distributed in the continuous temperate forest (located more than 900 km southwards) indicate that this bird assemblage shares more similarities, with regard to bird species composition, to southern temperate forest localities and to other relict forests, than to nearer scrub habitats. However, there are eight species, endemic to temperate forests in southern South America, missing from our system. In this regard, our analyses indicate that these eight endemic species should be of great conservation concern and will likely be the ones that will go extinct first if the fragmentation of the temperate forest continues.
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    Importance of native bamboo for understory birds in Chilean temperate forests
    (2004) Reid, S; Díaz, IA; Armesto, JJ; Willson, MF
    In South American temperate rainforests, five endemic understory birds (four Rhinocryptidae and one Furnariidae) are often associated with the main understory plant, the native bamboo Chusquea valdiviensis (Poaceae: Bambusoideae). We studied the effects of bamboo cover on species abundance and richness of those understory birds and explored the functions of bamboo as food resource and escape cover. In Chiloe Island (42degreesS), southern Chile, we selected four old-growth forest patches >100 ha and in each patch conducted bird surveys in six plots with >70% understory cover. Three plots were dominated by native bamboo and three plots had a sparse bamboo cover. Bird abundance (point counts) was significantly correlated with both total understory cover and percentage of bamboo cover but was not correlated with other kinds of understory plant cover. Bird species richness was positively correlated with bamboo cover and negatively correlated with other kinds of understory cover but unrelated to total understory cover. Leaf-gleaners Magellanic Tapaculos (Scytalopus magellanicus), Ochre-flanked Tapaculos (Eugralla paradoxa), and Des Murs's Wiretails (Sylviorthorhynchus desmursii), and the ground-gleaner Chucao Tapaculos (Scelorchilus rubecula) were more abundant in high-bamboo plots; but the ground-gleaner Black-throated Huet-huet (Pteroptochos tarnii) was recorded more times in plots with low-bamboo cover.
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    Linking forest structure and composition
    (2005) Díaz, IA; Armesto, JJ; Reid, S; Sieving, KE; Willson, MF
    We show how Chilean forest bird species richness, abundance and guild structure changes as a function of structural properties of forest stands. We surveyed bird assemblages in two old-growth (>200 years), two mid-successional (30-60 years), and two early-successional forest stands (4-20 years), from November 1999 to September 2000, on Chiloe Island, southern Chile (42degreesS). Birds were grouped into four habitat-use guilds: large-tree users, vertical-profile generalists, understory species, and shrub-users that occasionally use forests. We recorded a total of 24 bird species: 21 in old-growth, 14 in mid-successional and 16 in early-successional stands. Large-tree users and understory birds were most abundant in old-growth stands, vertical-profile generalists were common in both old-growth and mid-successional stands, and shrub-users were only common in early-successional stands. For nine bird species we found significant relationships between their local abundance and forest structural elements. Higher bird densities in old-growth forests were associated with greater availability of canopy emergent trees, snags, logs and understory bamboo cover in this habitat. Accordingly, bird species diversity in forest stands can be predicted by the presence of these structural elements, and forests should be managed to conserve structural elements that create favorable habitat for bird species in order to prevent future species losses due to logging practices. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.