Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-rvbq7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T17:34:55.090Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonality of vocal activity of a bird community in an Afrotropical lowland rain forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2018

Jana Vokurková Open the ORCID record for Jana Vokurková [Opens in a new window] ,
Francis N. Motombi ,
Michal Ferenc Open the ORCID record for Michal Ferenc [Opens in a new window] ,
David Hořák Open the ORCID record for David Hořák [Opens in a new window]  and
Ondřej Sedláček Open the ORCID record for Ondřej Sedláček [Opens in a new window]
Jana Vokurková*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic
Francis N. Motombi
Affiliation:
Mt Cameroon NP, Buea, Cameroon
Michal Ferenc
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic
David Hořák
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic
Ondřej Sedláček
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic
*
*Corresponding author. Email: jankavok@seznam.cz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Recent observations from the tropics indicate seasonal peaks in breeding and vocal activity of some bird species. However, information about seasonality in vocal activity at the community level is still lacking in the tropics. We examined seasonal variation in the diurnal vocal activity of lowland rain forest birds on Mount Cameroon, using weekly automatic sound recording throughout the whole year and related it to rainfall and temperature. We show that the bird community in lowland rain forest vocalized year-round, but species richness as well as the vocal activity of the community varied greatly during the year. This variation coincided with the seasonality of rainfall. The highest number of species (31.5 on average) sang at the beginning of the driest period, followed by a gradual decrease in singing with increasing rainfall (minimum 14.5 species). This indicates that intensive rainfall indirectly limits the vocal activity of the tropical rain-forest bird community. Temporal turnover of vocalizing species as well as within-day variation in vocal activity was highest during the transition period between dry and rainy seasons. We suggest that this could reflect differing timing in the breeding activity of particular feeding guilds to follow seasonal peaks of their diets.

Keywords

Afrotropicsbirdslowland rain forestseasonalitysong
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , January 2018 , pp. 53 - 64
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

AHUMADA, J. A. 2001. Comparison of the reproductive biology of two Neotropical wrens in an unpredictable environment in northeastern Colombia. Auk 118:191–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ANDERSON, D. P., NODHEIM, E. V., MOERMOND, T. C., GONÉ BI, Z. B. & BOESCH, C. 2005. Factors influencing tree phenology in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. Biotropica 37:631–640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BASELGA, A. 2010. Partitioning the turnover and nestedness components of beta diversity. Global Ecology and Biogeography 19:134–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BLAKE, J. G. & LOISELLE, B. A. 1991. Variation in resource abundance affects capture rates of birds in three lowland habitats in Costa Rica. Auk 108:114–130.Google Scholar
BORROW, N. & DEMEY, R. 2004. Field guide to the birds of Western Africa. Helm, London. 512 pp.Google Scholar
BRAWN, J. D., BENSON, T. J., STAGER, M., SLY, N. D. & TARWATER, C. E. 2017. Impacts of changing rainfall regime on the demography of tropical birds. Nature Climate Change 7:133–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CABLE, S. & CHEEK, M. 1998. The plants of Mount Cameroon, a conservation checklist. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 279 pp.Google Scholar
CATCHPOLE, C. K. & KOMDEUR, J. 1993. The song of the Seychelles warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis, an island endemic. Ibis 135:190–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHIVER, I., STUTCHBURY, B. J. M. & MORTON, E. S. 2015. The function of seasonal song in a tropical resident species, the Red-throated Ant-tanager (Habia fuscicauda). Journal of Ornithology 156:55–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
COX, D. T. C., BRANDT, M. J., MCGREGOR, R., OTTOSSON, U., STEVENS, M. C. & CRESSWELL, W. 2013. The seasonality of breeding in savannah birds of West Africa assessed from brood patch and juvenile occurrence. Journal of Ornithology 154:671–683.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DAWSON, A., KING, V. M., BENTLEY, G. E. & BALL, G. F. 2001. Photoperiodic control of seasonality in birds. Journal of Biological Rhythms 16:365–380.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DELANCEY, M. W. & DELANCEY, M. D. 2000. Historical dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon. (Third edition). The Scarecrow Press, Lanham. 252 pp.Google Scholar
DJOMO NANA, E., SEDLÁČEK, O., DOLEŽAL, J., DANČÁK, M., ALTMAN, J., SVOBODA, M., MAJESKÝ, L. & HOŘÁK, D. 2015. Relationship between survival rate of avian artificial nests and forest vegetation structure along a tropical altitudinal gradient on Mount Cameroon. Biotropica 47:758–764.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FOSTER, M. S. 1974. Rain, feeding behavior, and clutch size in tropical birds. Auk 91:722–726.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FRASER, P. J., HALL, J. B. & HEALEY, J. R. 1998. Climate of the Mount Cameroon: region, long and medium term rainfall, temperature and sunshine data. SAFS, University of Wales Bangor, MCP-LBG, Limbe. 56 pp.Google Scholar
GILL, F. & DONSKER, D. (eds). 2017. IOC World bird list (v 7.2). International Ornithologists’ Union, Cleveland.Google Scholar
GONFIANTINI, R., ROCHE, M. A., OLIVRY, J. C., FONTES, J. C. & ZUPPI, G. M. 2001. The altitude effect on the isotopic composition of tropical rains. Chemical Geology 181:147–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GOYMANN, W., HELM, B., JENSEN, W., SCHWABL, I. & MOORE, I. T. 2012. A tropical bird can use the equatorial change in sunrise and sunset times to synchronize its circannual clock. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 279:3527–3534.Google ScholarPubMed
GREENBERG, R. 1995. Insectivorous migratory birds in tropical ecosystems – the breeding currency hypothesis. Journal of Avian Biology 26:260–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HAU, M. 2001. Timing of breeding in variable environments: tropical birds as model systems. Hormones and Behavior 40:281–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
HAU, M., PERFITO, N. & MOORE, I. T. 2008. Timing of breeding in tropical birds: mechanisms and evolutionary implications. Ornitología Neotropical 19:39–59.Google Scholar
HILL, S. D., AMIOT, C., LUDBROOK, M. R. & JI, W. 2015. Seasonal variation in the song structure of tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae). New Zealand Journal of Ecology 39:110–115.Google Scholar
JOHNSON, E. I., STOUFFER, P. C. & BIERREGAARD, R. O. 2012. The phenology of molting, breeding and their overlap in central Amazonian birds. Journal of Avian Biology 43:141–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KARR, J. R. 1976. Seasonality, resource availability, and community diversity in tropical bird communities. American Naturalist 110:973–994.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KOLOFF, J. & MENNILL, D. J. 2013. Vocal behaviour of Barred Antshrikes, a Neotropical duetting suboscine bird. Journal of Ornithology 154:51–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KUNKEL, P. 1974. Mating systems of tropical birds: the effects of weakness or absence of external reproduction-timing factors, with special reference to prolonged pair bonds. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 34:265–307.Google Scholar
LENGAGNE, T. & SLATER, P. J. B. 2002. The effects of rain on acoustic communication: tawny owls have good reason for calling less in wet weather. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 269:2121–2125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LOISELLE, B. A. 1988. Bird abundance and seasonality in a Costa Rican lowland forest canopy. Condor 90:761–772.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MANICA, L. T., MAIA, R., DIASA, A., PODOS, J. & MACEDO, R. H. 2014. Vocal output predicts territory quality in a Neotropical songbird. Behavioural Processes 109:21–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MATHEVON, N., AUBIN, T., VIELLIARD, J., DA SILVA, M.-L., SEBE, F. & BOSCOLO, D. 2008. Singing in the rain forest: how a tropical bird song transfers information. PLoS ONE 3 (2): e1580.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MCNAMARA, J. M., BARTA, Z., KLAASSEN, M. & BAUER, S. 2011. Cues and the optimal timing of activities under environmental changes. Ecology Letters 14:1183–1190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MOORE, I. T., WINGFIELD, J. C. & BRENOWITZ, E. A. 2004. Plasticity of the avian song control system in response to localized environmental cues in an equatorial songbird. Journal of Neuroscience 24:10182–10185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MOORE, I. T., BONIER, F. & WINGFIELD, J. C. 2005. Reproductive asynchrony and population divergence between two tropical bird populations. Behavioral Ecology 16:755–762.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MOREAU, R. E. 1950. The breeding seasons of African birds – 1. Land birds. Ibis 92:223–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MULWA, R. K., NEUSCHULZ, E. L., BOHNING-GAESE, K. & SCHLEUNING, M. 2013. Seasonal fluctuations of resource abundance and avian feeding guilds across forest-farmland boundaries in tropical Africa. Oikos 122:524–532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OSBORNE, P. L. 2000. Tropical ecosystems and ecological concepts. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 262 pp.Google Scholar
PEARSON, D. L. 1977. A pantropical comparison of bird community structure on six lowland forest sites. Condor 79:232–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PERES, C. A. 1994. Primate responses to phenological changes in an Amazonian terra-firme forest. Biotropica 26:98–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
POULIN, B., LEFEBVRE, G. & MCNEIL, R. 1992. Tropical avian phenology in relation to abundance and exploitation of food resources. Ecology 73:2295–2309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RICKLEFS, R. E. 1969. The nesting cycle of songbirds in tropical and temperate regions. Living Bird 8:165–175.Google Scholar
SCHLOSS, A. L., KICKLIGHTER, D. W., KADUK, J., WITTENBERG, U. & THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE POTSDAM NPP MODEL, INTERCOMPARISON. 1999. Comparing global models of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP): comparison of NPP to climate and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. Global Change Biology 5 (Suppl. 1):25–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SEDLÁČEK, O., VOKURKOVÁ, J., FERENC, M., NANA DJOMO, E., ALBRECHT, T. & HOŘÁK, D. 2015. A comparison of point counts with a new acoustic sampling method: a case study of a bird community from the montane forests of Mount Cameroon. Ostrich 86:213–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SENAPATHI, D., NICOLL, M. A. C., TEPLITSKY, C., JONES, C. G. & NORRIS, K. 2011. Climate change and the risks associated with delayed breeding in a tropical wild bird population. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 278:3184–3190.Google Scholar
SERLE, W. 1981. The breeding season of birds in the lowland rainforest and in the montane forest of west Cameroon. Ibis 123:62–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SLATER, P. J. B. & MANN, N. I. 2004. Why do the females of many bird species sing in the tropics? Journal of Avian Biology 35:289–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
STOUFFER, P. C., JOHNSON, E. I. & BIERREGAARD, R. O. 2013. Breeding seasonality in Central Amazonian rainforest birds. Auk 130:529–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
STUART, S. N. (ed.) 1986. Conservation of Cameroon montane forest. International Council for Bird Preservation, Cambridge. 263 pp.Google Scholar
STUTCHBURY, B. J. M. & MORTON, E. S. 2008. Recent advances in the behavioral ecology of tropical birds. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120:26–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SUEUR, J., GASC, A., GRANDCOLAS, P. & PAVOINE, S. 2012. Global estimation of animal diversity using automatic acoustic sensors. Pp. 101–119 in Le Galliard, J. F., Guarini, J. M. & Gaill, F. (eds). Sensors for ecology: towards integrated knowledge of ecosystems. CNRS Editions, Paris. 344 pp.Google Scholar
TALLMAN, D. A. & TALLMAN, E. J. 1997. Timing of breeding by antbirds (Formicariidae) in an aseasonal environment in Amazonian Ecuador. Ornithological Monographs 48:783–789.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TOBIAS, J. A., GAMARRA-TOLEDO, V., GARCIA-OLAECHEA, D., PULGARIN, P. C. & SEDDON, N. 2011. Year-round resource defence and the evolution of male and female song in suboscine birds: social armaments are mutual ornaments. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24:2118–2138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TOPP, S. M. & MENNILL, D. 2008. Seasonal variation in the duetting behaviour of rufous-and-white wrens (Thryothorus rufalbus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 62:1107–1117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TYE, H. 1992. Reversal of breeding season by lowland birds at higher altitudes in western Cameroon. Ibis 134:154–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VAN SCHAIK, C. P., TEBORGH, J. W. & WRIGHT, S. J. 1993. The phenology of tropical forests: adaptive significance and consequences for primary consumers. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 24:353–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WEREMA, C., HOWELL, K. M. & NDANGALASI, H. J. 2016. Seasonal use of remnant forest fragments by seasonal altitudinal migrants in the Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania: a conservation priority. Ostrich 87:255–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WIKELSKI, M., HAU, M. & WINGFIELD, J. C. 2000. Seasonality of reproduction in a Neotropical rain forest bird. Ecology 81:2458–2472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WILLIAMS, S. E. & MIDDLETON, J. 2008. Climatic seasonality, resource bottlenecks, and abundance of rainforest birds: implications for global climate change. Diversity and Distributions 14:69–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WOLDA, H. 1980. Seasonality of tropical insects. Journal of Animal Ecology 49:277–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar