Participants in mixed-species bird flocks(MSFs)have been shown to associate with species that are similar in body size,diet,and evolutionary history,suggesting that facilitation structures these assemblages.In additio...
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Participants in mixed-species bird flocks(MSFs)have been shown to associate with species that are similar in body size,diet,and evolutionary history,suggesting that facilitation structures these assemblages.In addition,several studies have suggested that species in MsFs resemble each other in their plumage,but this question has not been systematically investigated for any MsF system.During the nonbreeding season of 2020 and 2021,we sampled 585 MSFs on 14 transects in 2 habitats of Tongbiguang Nature Reserve in western Yunnan Province,China.We performed social network analysis and the Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure to evaluate the effect of 4 species traits(body size,overall plumage color,distinctive plumage patterns,and diet)and evolutionary history on species association strength at the whole-MSF and within-MSF levels.All 41 significant relationships showed that species with stronger associations were more similar in their various traits.Body size had the strongest effect on association strength,followed by phylogeny,plumage patterns,and plumage color;diet had the weakest effect.Our results are consistent with the hypotheses that the benefits of associating with phenotypically similar species outweigh the potential costs of interspecific competition,and that trait matching can occur in plumage characteristics,albeit more weakly than in other traits.Several explanations exist as to why similarities in plumage may occur in MSFs,including that they could reduce predators'ability to target phenotypically"odd"individuals.Whether trait matching in plumage occurs through assortative processes in ecological time or is influenced by co-evolution requires furtherstudy.
Owls have the potential to be keystone species for conservation in fragmented landscapes, as the absence of these predators could profoundly change community structure. Yet few studies have examined how whole communit...
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Owls have the potential to be keystone species for conservation in fragmented landscapes, as the absence of these predators could profoundly change community structure. Yet few studies have examined how whole communities of owls respond to fragmentation, especially in the tropics. When evaluating the effect of factors related to fragmentation, such as fragment area and distance to the edge, on these birds, it is also important in heterogeneous landscapes to ask how 'location factors' such as the topography, vegetation and soil of the fragment predict their persistence. In Xishuangbanna, southwest China, we established 43 transects (200 mx60 m) within 20 forest fragments to sample nocturnal birds, both visually and aurally. We used a multimodel inference approach to identify the factors that influence owl species richness, and generalized linear mixed models to predict the occurrence probabilities of each species. We found that fragmentation factors dominated location factors, with larger fragments having more species, and four of eight species were significantly more likely to occur in large fragments. Given the potential importance of these birds on regulating small mammal and other animal populations, and thus indirectly affecting seed dispersal, we suggest further protection of large f ragments and programs to increase their connectivity to the remaining smaller fragments.
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