Understanding the distribution of a threatened bird at multiple levels: A hierarchical analysis of the ecological niche of the Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant (Myiotheretes pernix)

Abstract

ABSTRACT An understanding of the ecological factors determining bird species' distributions is essential for making informed conservation decisions. These data are especially important for range-restricted species, such as the Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant (Myiotheretes pernix), a threatened endemic of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) in Colombia. Here we adopt a novel hierarchical analysis to describe the bush-tyrant's ecological niche and infer the regional and local determinants of its limited distribution. We first describe habitat selection based on local habitat use and microhabitats used for foraging. We then use a geoprocessing modeling algorithm to combine habitat selection data with a climatic niche model. The resulting model produced an index of habitat suitability, which we converted into a predicted geographic distribution. Santa Marta Bush-Tyrants showed no clear habitat preferences, but favored forested and secondary growth habitats over open areas, at elevations between 2,100 and 3,300 m....