Species composition, relative abundance, and habitat association of birds in Dodola dry evergreen afro-montane forest and sub-afro-alpine scrubland vegetation, southeast Ethiopia.

Abstract

Birds' functional groups are useful for maintaining fundamental ecological processes, ecosystem services, and economic benefits. Negative consequences of loss of functional groups are substantial. Birds are usually found at a high trophic level in food webs and are relatively sensitive to environmental change. The first surveillance bird study was carried out southeast of Ethiopia adjacent to Bale Mountain National Park aimed at investigating the composition, relative abundance, and distribution of Aves. Using regular systematic point transact sampling, the density and species composition were analyzed through the mark recapture distance sampling engine assisted by R statistical software. This study recorded a total of seventy-eight bird species over two distinct seasons. Among these, fifteen species were exclusive to Erica habitats, twenty-six were found in natural forest habitats, and three were specific to plantation forest habitats. The study also discovered three endemic species. Based on the 2018 IUCN Red List categories, six of the species are globally threatened, three are near threatened, and the remaining sixty-nine are classified as least concern. The relative abundance of birds did not significantly differ across habitats and seasons, but variations were observed among blocks. Bird density was found to fluctuate across the three habitats and two seasons; however, these habitat differences were not influenced by seasonal changes. The findings of this study reveal that the differences in composition and relative abundance are not merely seasonal changes in the forest and Erica habitats. Instead, these habitats create microclimates that cater to specific bird species. However, this localized endemism also presents challenges. The concentration of endemic species and potential resource constraints could pose a threat to these habitat-specialist birds.