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Forest corridors facilitate movement of tropical forest birds after experimental translocations in a fragmented Neotropical landscape in Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 August 2011

Ana Ibarra-Macias ,
W. Douglas Robinson  and
Michael S. Gaines
Ana Ibarra-Macias*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33124USA
W. Douglas Robinson
Affiliation:
Oak Creek Lab of Biology, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331USA
Michael S. Gaines
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33124USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract:

We evaluated effects of corridors between forest fragments surrounded by pastures in tropical Mexico. We used experimental translocations and capture–recapture data to measure the proportion of birds returning and time to return after translocation between connected and unconnected patches (five replicates for each treatment). Depending on each species’ degree of forest dependence (forest-restricted and forest-unrestricted species), we assigned birds to two groups to evaluate influence of species characteristics on effects of corridors on movement. Birds translocated between connected patches (n = 75) were seven times more likely to be recaptured in their original capture site when compared with birds translocated between unconnected patches (n = 109). Effects differed among the two species groups. In the presence of corridors, 46% of forest-unrestricted birds returned to the capture site while only 5% returned between unconnected patches. Forest-restricted birds showed similar results, but were only twice as likely to return to a connected capture site. Birds translocated between unconnected patches took longer to return than birds translocated between connected patches. The strong positive effect of corridors on movement, even for forest-unrestricted species, suggests that forested corridors facilitate bird movement and help maintain connectivity even in this highly fragmented landscape.

Keywords

bird movementconnectivitydispersalforest fragmentationMexicoPalenque National Parktropical forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , September 2011 , pp. 547 - 556
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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