Abstract
Migratory birds face population declines attributed to habitat loss and modification in the wintering grounds, which may influence body condition, time of arrival to breeding grounds, and future reproductive opportunities. Despite this, very little is known of the wintering ecology of migratory birds. During three winter seasons, we assessed Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) density, territory size, and body condition at three cloud forest sites in southeast Mexico, with differing degrees of habitat disturbance and forest cover: preserved 125 ha of cloud forest actively protected for 40 years; moderately disturbed site of 67.5 ha of cloud forest under protection for 29 years; and highly disturbed unprotected site with 6.5 ha of cloud forest. We determined warbler density using 20 unlimited-radius point-counts at each site. We also captured and measured birds (n = 74) over three years, to obtain a body condition index, and re-sighted color-banded birds to determine individual territory size at each site. Bird densities were two times greater and territory size was smaller in the conserved forest site compared to disturbed sites with lower forest cover. However, there was no significant difference among sites in the body condition index of territorial birds. Furthermore, territory size and body condition were relatively constant among years for birds in conserved forest, but exhibited high inter-annual fluctuations at disturbed forest sites. Considering the higher bird density, smaller territory size, and inter-annually consistent body condition at the conserved cloud forest site, we propose that this represents higher quality wintering habitat for Wilson’s Warblers.
Zusammenfassung
Störungen im Winterquartier beeinflussen die Territorien-Größe und -Besetzungsdichte bei einem neotropischen Zugvogel ( Cardellina pusilla )
Verlust oder Veränderung ihrer Habitate in den Überwinterungsquartieren führen bei Zugvögeln zu einem Rückgang der Populationen und beeinflussen möglicherweise ihre gesamte physische Verfassung, ihre Ankunft in den Brutgebieten und die Fortpflanzungsmöglichkeiten. Dennoch weiß man nur sehr wenig über die Ökologie der Überwinterung von Zugvögeln. Über drei Winter hinweg bestimmten wir in Südost-Mexiko in drei Nebelwaldgebieten für den Mönchswaldsänger (Cardellina pusilla) die Größe und Besetzungsdichte der Territorien sowie ihre physische Verfassung. Diese Parameter wurden für drei Areale mit unterschiedlich starken Störungen und mit unterschiedlicher Bewaldung erfasst: (1) 125 ha große, über 40 Jahre aktiv geschützte Nebelwaldareale, (2) nur mäßig gestörte, über 29 Jahre geschützte, 67,5 ha große Areale, (3) stark gestörte, nicht geschützte Areale von 6,5 ha Größe. Anhand von 20 „unlimited-radius“-Punktzählungen bestimmten wir die Dichte/Häufigkeit der Vögel in jedem Areal. Ferner fingen wir über drei Jahre hinweg Vögel (n = 74) und nahmen ihre Maße, um einen Körperverfassungs-Index aufzustellen. Die Beobachtung von farbig markierten Vögeln gab uns außerdem Aufschluss über die individuellen Reviergrößen in den jeweiligen Nebelwald-Arealen. In den geschützten Arealen war die Individuendichte doppelt so groß, die Reviere jedoch kleiner als in den ungestörten Arealen mit geringerer Bewaldung. Beim Körperverfassungs-Index gab es jedoch keinen signifikanten Unterschied zwischen den einzelnen Arealen. Reviergröße und physische Verfassung erwiesen sich über die Jahre bei den Vögeln aus geschützten Waldarealen als ziemlich konstant, zeigten aber große Unterschiede zwischen den Jahren für die Vögel aus Arealen mit Störungen. Wegen der größeren Vogeldichte, der kleineren Reviere und der über die Jahre gleichbleibenden körperlichen Verfassung der Vögel in den geschützten Nebelwald-Arealen gehen wir davon aus, dass diese für Mönchswaldsänger ein qualitativ höherwertiges Winterquartier darstellen.
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Acknowledgments
The study was conducted in partial fulfillment of a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Funding for the research was provided by the Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica (UNAM-DGAPA-PAPIIT grant IN203012), and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencias y Tecnología (CONACyT 179877) to K. R. CONACyT also provided a Doctoral scholarship to A. R. S. (197592) and R. R. H. (171086). The Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), Mexico, granted permits for the research, which complies with Mexican law. We thank Ángel F. Rueda Hernández for his technical assistance while carrying out the fieldwork. We are also grateful to Marduck Obrador for allowing us to study birds on his property Rancho el Trébol, and to the Instituto de Ecología A.C. for allowing access to Santuario de Niebla, Francisco Javier Clavijero. We appreciate the constructive comments of the anonymous reviewers that enriched the quality of our paper.
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Permits for the research were granted by SEMARNAT in compliance with Mexican law.
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Communicated by C. G. Guglielmo.
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Ruiz-Sánchez, A., Renton, K. & Rueda-Hernández, R. Winter habitat disturbance influences density and territory size of a Neotropical migratory warbler. J Ornithol 158, 63–73 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1368-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1368-9