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Altitudinal shifts in forest birds in a Mediterranean mountain range: causes and conservation prospects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2019

JOSÉ LUIS TELLERÍA Open the ORCID record for JOSÉ LUIS TELLERÍA [Opens in a new window]
JOSÉ LUIS TELLERÍA*
Affiliation:
Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Universidad Complutense, 28040Madrid, Spain. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

Mediterranean mountains are biodiversity hotspots where northern species occur surrounded by drier and warmer lowlands. In this context, global warming is pushing these species to higher elevations. This paper assesses whether forest birds have experienced a shift upwards over the elevation gradient in the last 35 years in the Guadarrama Mountains (600–2,400 m asl; central Spain). Alternatively, the paper tests whether the reported shifts are related to changes in forest structure resulting from rural abandonment and/or forest management. To do this, sampling carried out from 1976 to 1980 along the elevation gradient was repeated in 2014–2015. In addition, the habitat preferences of birds were used to test if the elevation shifts were related to changes in forest structure. Results show that the mean range position of birds associated with tree cover shifted downwards, a trend supported by an increase in tree-dependent birds at mid-elevations. These trends suggest that an increase in tree cover has buffered the altitudinal shifts of forest birds predicted by climate warming. Results also suggest that proper forest management may improve the resilience of forest bird communities to the pervasive effects of climate warming.

Keywords

Climate changeElevationGuadarrama Mountains (Spain)PasserinesResilienceTree cover
Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , December 2020 , pp. 495 - 505
Copyright
© BirdLife International, 2019

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