Abstract
AbstractAimAlthough land use change is a leading cause of biodiversity loss worldwide, there is scant information on the extent to which it has affected the structure and composition of bird communities in the Afrotropical region. This study aimed to quantify the effects of habitat transformation on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity in Afrotropical bird communities.LocationNyungwe landscape, a montane rainforest with adjoining farmland in south‐west Rwanda.MethodsData on bird occurrence, abundance and functional traits were collected in 2017/18 using point counts. We also collected data on habitat and morphological traits for all bird species recorded. We quantified bird diversity using a range of metrics, including the inverse Simpson index, functional dispersion and the standardized effect size of mean nearest taxon distance.ResultsIn comparison with primary forest areas, even low levels of land use change altered species composition and reduced species diversity. Although overall functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity were similar across land use types, we found a significant contraction of trophic and locomotory trait structures of bird communities in restored areas and cultivated areas, respectively. Soil moisture, elevation and lower vegetation height were major factors influencing taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions of bird communities, although their effects varied across these dimensions.Main conclusionsThe sensitivity of forest species to minor habitat disturbance emphasizes the value of conserving primary vegetation. Long‐term conservation of bird communities in Afromontane ecosystems requires halting wide‐scale destruction of primary forest, promoting vegetation heterogeneity in the ecological restoration of degraded habitats and adopting wildlife‐friendly agricultural practices. Our results suggest that monitoring and conservation in these landscapes can be refined using taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity metrics to provide complementary information about the current and likely future impacts of land use change.
Highlights
Tropical ecosystems provide essential ecosystem services ranging from carbon sequestration to climate and water regulation, and they harbour 91% of terrestrial avian species (Barlow et al, 2018; Diaz et al, 2019; Phillips et al, 2017)
Overall functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity were similar across land use types, we found a significant contraction of trophic and locomotory trait structures of bird communities in restored areas and cultivated areas, respectively
Our results suggest that monitoring and conservation in these landscapes can be refined using taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity metrics to provide complementary information about the current and likely future impacts of land use change
Summary
Tropical ecosystems provide essential ecosystem services ranging from carbon sequestration to climate and water regulation, and they harbour 91% of terrestrial avian species (Barlow et al, 2018; Diaz et al, 2019; Phillips et al, 2017). Birds have been the focus of many land use change studies worldwide, research coverage in the Afrotropics remains poor and is dominated by the evaluation of taxonomic diversity, which is not always sufficiently informative about ecosystem processes and responses to environmental disturbances (Cadotte et al, 2011; Mouillot et al, 2013; Petchey & Gaston, 2002; Walker et al, 1999). To fill this gap, functional trait-based approaches are gaining prominence, wherein functional traits are defined as a quantifiable aspect of an organism that influences its interaction with the environment (Flynn et al, 2009). Since the structural complexity of vegetation is known to drive species diversity (MacArthur & MacArthur, 1961) and anthropogenic disturbances may catalyse habitat filtering processes resulting in reduced avian diversity (Evans et al, 2018; Flynn et al, 2009), we predict that (b) communities in highly degraded land uses will comprise sets of closely related species and (c) increased vegetation structural complexity will drive increases in each diversity component
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