Abstract
A good supply of insects in the diet of birds is vital for survival. Insects provide a high and easily assimilated source of protein essential to avian species life process. Both insects and birds are useful bio-indicators of the environment and therefore important systems for biodiversity conservation. This study was carried out at the Jos WildlifePark located within the Jos Plateau. The Park is characterized by savanna scrub, gallery forests with seasonal streams, gentle hills and rocky outcrops and some exotic plants. Insectivorous passerines were trapped using mist nets to obtain faecal droppings which were then preserved in 70% alcohol and taken to the laboratory for microscopic examination of insect fragments. Line transect was used to survey insectivorous passerines and insects in different habitat types. Insect surveys involved the use of sweep netting and pitfall trapping techniques along transects. A total of 151 bird species in 48 Familieswere recorded whereas a total of 91 insect species were identified in 17 Orders and 87 Families during this study. In addition, insects collected along the transect line pointed out that the Order Hymenoptera> Diptera> Coleoptera>Orthoptera. The positive correlation between insects sampled from the faecal dropping of insectivorous passerines and those collected from the habitat types in the study area perhaps suggest that the insect diet of the insectivorous passerines is a reflection of the frequency of insect abundance and diversity in the study area. The study concludes that insectivorous passerines had a direct correlation between habitat resource availability and utilization.
Highlights
A good supply of insects in the diet of birds is vital for survival
A comparison between insect Orders identified from the faecal droppings of trapped insectivorous passerines and insects sampled from the field using sweep-net and pitfall traps showed that the Orders Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Orthopthera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Isoptera, Hemiptera, Mantodae, Homoptera and Trichoptera were all represented in both insects sampled from faecal droppings and those from the field, while Neuroptera, Mecoptera, Thysanoptera, Dermaptera, Phasmatodae and Blatteria were only represented from the field collection (Figure 1)
Undigested insect fragments or insect prey remains from the faecal samples of insectivorous passerines included complete heads, mouth parts, thoracic segments, abdominal segments, wings, raptorial, head capsule, legs, elytra, targal plate, antenna, arista, eye, proboscis, scales and spine
Summary
Insects provide a high and assimilated source of protein essential to avian species life process Both insects and birds are useful bio-indicators of the environment and important systems for biodiversity conservation. Line transect was used to survey insectivorous passerines and insects in different habitat types. Considerable attention has been directed toward bird population, sparked by concern over reported declines of species on a global scale (Robbins et al 1989; Balmford et al 2001; MacKenzie and Nichols, 2004) Much of this attention is focussed on bird habitatrelationships, more so with the increasing evidence (Balmford et al 2001) that areas of outstanding conservation importance may coincide with areas of dense human population settlement or impact. This study determined whether insectivorous passerine diversity and abundance correlate those of their insect prey across different habitat types of the Jos Wildlife Park, a semi-degraded savanna woodland
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