Abstract
Nestedness is a widely known structuring model in insular and fragmented biotas that has often been assessed, but most studies to date have used a taxonomic approach. However, the relevance of an approach using functional groups has become increasingly highlighted in community ecology research. In this study, we evaluated the occurrence of nested structure in the Jardines de la Reina National Park bird assemblages as a whole, and its trophic guilds by following three different grouping criteria. We constructed species presence–absence matrices for each guild and estimated the degree of nestedness with the metric based on the overlap and decreasing fill, assessing its significance by means of two null models. Overall bird assemblage was significantly nested (NODF = 76.99; p = 0.01) whereas terrestrial insectivores (NODF = 81.32) and insectivores (NODF = 80.04) were the only trophic guilds (out of 19) that showed significant nestedness (p ≤ 0.01). These results could provide evidence of the structural and functional cohesion of avifauna at the study site, especially among its insect–eating taxa. Taxonomic nestedness based on a guilds approach may help identify suitable conservation strategies for avian communities inhabiting naturally fragmented areas such as the Jardines de la Reina National Park.
Highlights
The complexity of natural communities has long proved a fruitful theoretical framework for the inception of numerous hypotheses related to and assembly rules at explaining species coexistence patterns
The aims of this study are: 1) to test out the occurrence of varying degrees of nestedness between different trophic guilds underliyng the overall taxonomic nestedness in the Jardines de la Reina National Park (JRNP); 2) to evaluate and compare the nested pattern between trophic guilds based on distinct grouping schemes; and 3) to identify functional groups of birds which significantly contribute to the overall nested structure in the archipelago as priority conservation targets
We analysed a total of 115 bird species based on revised compilation works. These included the latest additions to Caballones cay: semipalmated plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), zenaida dove (Zenaida aurita), gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) and yellow–throated warbler (Setophaga dominica)
Summary
The complexity of natural communities has long proved a fruitful theoretical framework for the inception of numerous hypotheses related to and assembly rules at explaining species coexistence patterns. Ulrich et al (2017) stated that species interactions, distribution of functional traits and stochastic events of colonization and extinction can be readily inferred from the analysis of presene-absence Among these patterns, biotic nestedness has become a recurring topic of ecological research in the past few decades (e.g., Patterson and Atmar, 1986; Patterson, 1987; Wright et al, 1998; Almeida–Neto et al, 2008; Ulrich et al, 2009). Matthews et al (2015) noted that ecological similarities among species may be overlooked by the traditional taxonomic approach (species composition), which could result in functional redundancy of the ecosystems This latter subject stresses the need to include functional criteria in nestedness studies by providing a more accurate ecological context
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