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Aggressive competition for critical resources among migratory birds in the Neotropics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2010

Russell Greenberg ,
Javier Salgado Ortiz  and
Claudia Macias Caballero
Russell Greenberg
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C. 20008, U.S.A.
Javier Salgado Ortiz
Affiliation:
Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo, Morelia, Michoacdn, Mexico
Claudia Macias Caballero
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, Tuxtla GuttUrez, Chiapas, Mexico
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Competition between closely related species of migratory birds is thought to be important in determining their winter distributions, habitat and resource use. However, the role of active dominance interactions has generally been downplayed. In this paper we review the occurrence of interspecific feeding territories among certain Neotropical migrants. Aggressive dominants have been reported primarily at flowering plants, but also at the honeydew from scale insect infestations, the canopy of insect-rich pioneer trees and, occasionally, fruiting trees. Although the phenomenon is uncommon, aggressively dominant species may be important in certain habitats. The presence of such interspecific territorial systems argues for the poverty of resources in the habitat as a whole. Studying aggressive interactions among migrants is a way of using bird behaviour to define critical resources for conservation management.

Type
Growing Points in Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 4 , Issue 2-3: Neotropical Migrants , September 1994 , pp. 115 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © Birdlife International 1994

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