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Terrestrial and understorey insectivorous birds of a Peruvian cloud forest: species richness, abundance, density, territory size and biomass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

David W. Kikuchi
David W. Kikuchi*
Affiliation:
Nature and Culture International, Calle Los Zafiros LL – 13, Urb. Miraflores – Castilla, Piura, Peru
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Abstract:

Terrestrial insectivorous birds in a cloud-forest on the north-western slope of the Peruvian Andes were described in terms of species richness, abundance, density, territory size and biomass. Abundance, density and territory size were also characterized for several understorey insectivores. The three terrestrial insectivore species, all in the genus Grallaria, had 35.25 territories on a 26.2-ha plot, defended territories of (mean ± SD) 1.65 ± 1.34 ha, dwelled at an average density of 4.4 ± 2.7 pairs per 10 ha per species and constituted a biomass of 2470 g per 10 ha. Eight understorey insectivore species had 122.75 territories on the plot, held territories 0.86 ± 0.62 ha in size, and lived at an average density of 5.0 ± 2.7 pairs per 10 ha per species. Six of the 11 species studied each occupied over 50% of the plot. Data on terrestrial insectivores from this study were compared with data from other Neotropical plots to examine how properties of guild structure relate to one another. Increasing densities, smaller territory sizes and higher biomasses appeared to be linked with decreasing species richness and increasing elevation, suggesting consistent patterns of covariance.

Keywords

Andescommunity ecologyelevationGrallariaguildneotropical
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , September 2009 , pp. 523 - 529
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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