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Avian community composition in isolated forest fragments: a conceptual revision
Author(s) -
Brown William P.,
Sullivan Patrick J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
oikos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.672
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1600-0706
pISSN - 0030-1299
DOI - 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13725.x
Subject(s) - deforestation (computer science) , relative species abundance , fragmentation (computing) , abundance (ecology) , ecology , range (aeronautics) , forest fragmentation , biology , geography , biodiversity , materials science , computer science , composite material , programming language
Forest birds do not respond equally to effects of deforestation: some species are absent from small fragments, some species increase in relative abundance in isolated fragments, while others are not present in fragments that appear to be of sufficient quality and area to meet their ecological requirements. Mechanisms currently associated with forest fragmentation are insufficient to predict how populations of individual species respond to deforestation. Based on published data representing 573 forest fragments, we examined the effects of deforestation on the relative abundance of birds in isolated forest fragments. We tested the prediction that species exhibit differential responses to deforestation based on their mean body mass. We found that forest bird communities in small, isolated forests can be generally predicted based on the home range needs and the average mass of individual bird species; mass may be an indicator of competitive abilities. Large and small species are not present and medium‐sized species may increase in relative abundance in these forests. The limitations and implications of this pattern are discussed.