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Long-term changes in the bird community of Palenque, Chiapas, in response to rainforest loss

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Abstract

With increased human populations and subsequent pressure to develop or farm land, the rate of fragmentation of tropical rainforests has accelerated in the past several decades. How native organisms respond to such fragmentation has been the subject of intense study in temperate ecosystems and at several tropical sites in Central and South America, but there has been little study of this phenomenon in Mexico, the country bridging the Neotropics and temperate North America. A reason for this neglect is an apparent lack of long-term data; however, such data can be obtained from “non-traditional” sources, such as birders and tour leaders. We make innovative use of such data, combining them with more traditional data (e.g., museum specimens) to create a record of occurrence for Palenque, Mexico, from 1900 to 2009, including a near-continuous presence–absence record since 1970. We analyzed these data using logistic regression and, importantly, recent statistical advances expressly for sighting records. As recently as the 1960s Palenque’s forest was contiguous with that of Selva Lacandona to the east, but the protected area surrounding the famous ruins is now a forested island. As a result, various species formerly known from the site have disappeared, including species both large (Crax rubra, Penelope purpurascens, and Ara macao) and small (Notharchus hyperrhynchos, Malacoptila panamensis, Microrhopias quixensis, and Pachyramphus cinnamomeus). By contrast, several species of open areas or second growth have apparently colonized the area (e.g., Thryothorus modestus, Mimus gilvus, Euphonia affinis). Some species turnover has occurred within particular families, such as Columbidae, Trochilidae, and Troglodytidae. Losses and declines we documented at Palenque correspond with those reported from other sites in Mesoamerica, suggesting the soundness of our approach and the general vulnerability of certain species. Compilation and analysis of sighting record data holds great promise for tracking trends in many regions and across many taxa for which long-term census data are lacking.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the many field observers who shared their data with us: Kenneth P. Able, Bayard H. Brattstrom, Michael Carmody, Allen T. Chartier, Charles D. Duncan, John B. Dunning, Jr., Ernest P. Edwards, Bruce G. Elliott, Chris S. Elphick, Richard A. Erickson, Bert Frenz, James Hampson, Warren D. Harden, Richard C. Hoyer, Becky Hylton, Greg W. Lasley, Chet McGaugh, Jorge Montejo, Patrick O’Donnell, Dennis R. Paulson, Peter Pyle, Mark B. Robbins, Rose Ann Rowlett, Andres M. Sada, Bill Shepherd, Thomas S. Shulenberg, Jan Peter Smith, John C. Sterling, Steve Summers, Richard E. Webster, Sartor O. Williams III, and Summer V. Wilson. Special thanks to Greg F. Budney and Tammy Bishop (Macaulay Library), James Dean (National Museum of Natural History), John C. Hafner (Moore Laboratory of Zoology), Janet Hinshaw (University of Michigan Museum of Zoology), Andrew W. Kratter and Tom Webber (Florida Natural History Museum), J. V. Remsen, Jr. (Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science), and Thomas J. Trombone (American Museum of Natural History) for supplying information about holdings in their collections. We also thank Greg Budney for spearheading creation of a compact disc of Bill Shepherd’s 1973 cassette tape for Palenque bird songs and calls. Finally, Ellen V. Alers and James Steed facilitated our visit to the Smithsonian Archives, David L. Roberts shared his expertise on inferring extinction probabilities, and Miguel Angel Castillo Santiago, Ben H. J. De Jong, and Alejandro Estrada advised about maps of forest fragmentation in the Palenque region. Funding was provided by a Junior Faculty Award from the University of Oklahoma’s College of Arts and Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, 111 E. Chesapeake Street, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Michael A. Patten & Brenda D. Smith-Patten

  2. Sutton Avian Research Center and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Michael A. Patten

  3. Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-275, 04510, México, D.F., México

    Héctor Gómez de Silva

  4. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73072, USA

    Brenda D. Smith-Patten

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  1. Michael A. Patten
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Correspondence to Michael A. Patten.

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Patten, M.A., Gómez de Silva, H. & Smith-Patten, B.D. Long-term changes in the bird community of Palenque, Chiapas, in response to rainforest loss. Biodivers Conserv 19, 21–36 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9698-z

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