Abstract
Riparian thickets of East Africa harbor a large number of endemic animal and plant species, but also provide important ecosystem services for the human being settling along streams. This creates a conflicting situation between nature conservation and land‐use activities. Today, most of this former pristine vegetation is highly degraded and became replaced by the invasive exotic Lantana camara shrub species. In this study, we analyze the movement behavior and habitat use of a diverse range of riparian bird species and model the habitat availability of each of these species. We selected the following four riparian bird species: Bare‐eyed Thrush Turdus tephronotus, Rufous Chatterer Turdoides rubiginosus, Zanzibar Sombre Greenbul Andropadus importunus insularis, and the Kenyan endemic Hinde′s Babbler Turdoides hindei. We collected telemetric data of 14 individuals during a 2 months radio‐tracking campaign along the Nzeeu River in southeast Kenya. We found that (1) all four species had similar home‐range sizes, all geographically restricted and nearby the river; (2) all species mainly use dense thicket, in particular the invasive L. camara; (3) human settlements were avoided by the bird individuals observed; (4) the birds' movement, indicating foraging behavior, was comparatively slow within thickets, but significantly faster over open, agricultural areas; and (5) habitat suitability models underline the relevance of L. camara as suitable surrogate habitat for all understoreyed bird species, but also show that the clearance of thickets has led to a vanishing of large and interconnected thickets and thus might have negative effects on the population viability in the long run.
Highlights
One of the main driver of global biodiversity loss is the destruction of pristine habitats and the subsequent fragmentation and disturbance of the remaining habitat patches (Sala et al 2000; Watson et al 2005; Smith et al 2011)
Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
In the models developed for the bird species, the variables with the highest contributions were “distance from settlements” and “distance from vegetation,” followed by probability of L. camara in T. rubiginosus and the T. tephronotus, but not in the other two species, where “distance from vegetation” was more important (Table 2)
Summary
One of the main driver of global biodiversity loss is the destruction of pristine habitats and the subsequent fragmentation and disturbance of the remaining habitat patches (Sala et al 2000; Watson et al 2005; Smith et al 2011). The fragmentation of previously interconnected and intact habitats causes the decrease in habitat size, and the increase in geographic isolation among remaining patches, as well as the deterioration of habitat quality due to negative edge effects (Fahrig 2003) In addition to these changes in the original habitat configuration (size, isolation, shape of remaining patches), disturbed habitat remnants may become modified by the invasion of exotic species which replace pristine vegetation – and subsequently create a novel ecosystem (cf Lindenmayer et al 2008; Hobbs et al 2013).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
