Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T23:20:43.109Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Structure, density and rarity in an Amazonian rainforest bird community

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Jean-Marc Thiollay
Jean-Marc Thiollay
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Ecologie, URA-CNRS 258, E.N.S., 46, rue d'Ulm, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A 100-ha quadrat of primary rainforest in French Guiana was ccnsused over two consecutive years by the mapping method, and a 24-ha core area was intensively mistnetted at the same time. More extensive surveys were conducted in successively larger areas including up to a large part of the forested interior of the country. From a total of 441 resident species found in the rainforest zone, 248 were regularly recorded within the 100-ha plot, 157 of which had mean densities of more than 1 pair km-2. The total estimated density of birds was at least 829 pairs km-2. Only two dominant species exceeded 20 pairs km-2, while 52% of all the species were represented by less than 2 pairs km-2. The distribution of body masses and niche characteristics among the bird community is given as well as the sample bias of the mistnet captures.

Rare species were a key component of this primary rainforest community. Several patterns of rarity were described and no marked and constant relationships were found between rarity and body size, habitat, diet, foraging behaviour or social system. Among a wide set of environmental constraints, the population of each species may be limited by a different combination of factors. Habitat heterogeneity, low, irregular and seasonal food availability, interspecific competition or heavy predation pressure were prominent and likely causes of the low density of most species which in turn facilitated the high species richness.

Keywords

Amazoniabirdscommunity structuredensityFrench Guianarainforestrarityspecies richness
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , November 1994 , pp. 449 - 481
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Ashton, P. S. 1989. Species richness in tropical forests. Pp. 239–252 in Holm Nielsen, L. B., Nielsen, I. C. & Balslev, H. (eds). Tropical forests: botanical dynamics, speciation and diversity. Academic Press, London. 380 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, H. L. 1982. A bird community of lowland rain forest in New Guinea. 1. Composition and density of the avifauna. Emu 82:24–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bierregaard, R. O. 1988. Morphological data from understory birds in terra firme in the Central Amazonian Basin. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 48:169–178.Google Scholar
Blackburn, T. M., Lawton, J. H. & Perry, J. N. 1992. A method of estimating the slope of upper bounds of plots of body size and abundance in natural animal assemblages. Oikos 65:107–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bock, C. E. & Ricklefs, R. E. 1983. Range size and local abundance of some North American songbirds: a positive correlation. American Naturalist 122:295–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brosset, A. 1990. A longterm study of the rain forest birds in M'Passa, Gabon. Pp. 259–274 in Keast, A. (ed.). Biogeography and ecology of forest bird communities. SPB Academic Publishing BV, The Hague. 410 pp.Google Scholar
Brown, J. H. 1983. On the relationship between abundance and distribution of species. American Naturalist 124:255–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buckley, R. 1983. A possible mechanism for maintaining diversity in species-rich communities: an addendum to Connell's hypotheses. Oikos 40:312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colston, P. R. & Curry-Lindahl, K. 1986. The birds of Mount Nimba, Liberia. London: British Museum (Natural History) Publications no. 982. 129 pp.Google Scholar
Cracraft, J. 1985. Historical biogeography and patterns of differentiation within the South American avifauna: areas of endemism. Pp. 49–84 in Buckley, P. A., Foster, M. S., Morton, E. S., Ridgely, R. S. & Buckley, F. G. (eds). Neotropical ornithology, Ornithological Monographs no. 36, American Ornithologists' Union, Washington. 1041 pp.Google Scholar
Damuth, J. 1991. Of size and abundance. Nature 351:228–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, J. M. 1980. Patchy distributions of tropical birds. Pp. 57–74 in Soule, M. & Wilcox, B. (eds). Conservation biology. Sinauer, Sunderland, Mass.Google Scholar
Driscoll, P. V. & Kikkawa, J. 1989. Bird species diversity of lowland tropical rain forests of New Guinea and Northern Australia. Pp. 123–152 in Harmelin-Vivien, M. L. & Bourlière, F. (eds). Vertebrates in complex tropical systems. Ecological studies no. 69. Springer-Verlag, New York. 200 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunning, J. B. Jr (ed.). 1993. CRC Handbook of avion body masses. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. 371 pp.Google Scholar
Elgood, J. H. 1977. Forest birds in Southwest Nigeria. Ibis 119:462–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erard, Ch. 1989. Bird community structure in two rain forests: Africa (Gabon) and South America (French Guiana). A comparison. Pp. 89–122 in Harmelin-Vivien, M. L. & Bourlière, F. (eds). Vertebrates in complex tropical systems. Ecological studies no. 69. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 200 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erard, Ch., Thery, M. & Sabatier, D. 1991. Régime alimentaire de Tinamus major (Tinamidae), Crax alector (Cracidae) et Psophia crepitans (Psophiidae) en forêt guyanaise. Gibier Faune Sauvage 8:183–210.Google Scholar
Ferry, C. & Frochot, B. 1968. Recherches sur l'écologie des oiseaux forestiers de Bourgogne. Trois années de dénombrement des oiseaux nicheurs sur un quadrat de 16 ha en forêt de Citeaux. Alauda 36:68–132.Google Scholar
Fogden, M. P. L. 1972. The seasonality and population dynamics of equatorial forest birds in Sarawak. Ibis 114:107–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fogden, M. P. L. 1976. A census of a bird community in tropical rain forest in Sarawak. Sarawak Museum Journal. XXIV 45:251–267.Google Scholar
Franks, N. R. & Bossert, W. H. 1983. The influence of swarm raiding army ants on the patchiness and diversity of a tropical leaflitter ant community. Pp. 151–163 in Sutton, S. L., Whitmore, T. C. & Chadwick, A. C. (eds). Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 498 pp.Google Scholar
Gentry, A. H. (ed.). 1990. Four neotropical rainforests. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA. 627 pp.Google Scholar
Greenberg, R. 1981. The abundance and seasonality of forest canopy birds on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Biotropica 13:241–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenberg, R. & Gradwohl, D. 1986. Constant density and stable territoriality in some tropical insectivorous birds. Oecologica 69:618–625.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haffer, J. 1974. Avian speciation in tropical South America. Publication Nuttall Ornithologists' Club. 14.Google Scholar
Haverschmidt, F. 1968. Birds of Surinam. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh. 445 pp.Google Scholar
Holmes, R. T., Sherry, T. W. & Sturges, F. W. 1986. Bird community dynamics in a temperate deciduous forest: longterm trends at Hubbard Brook. Ecological Monographs 56:201–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubbell, S. P. & Foster, R. B. 1987. The spatial context of regeneration in a neotropical forest. Pp. 395–412 in Gray, A. J., Crawley, M. J. & Edwards, P. J. (eds). 26th Symposium of the British Ecological Society. Colonization, succession and stability. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 482 pp.Google Scholar
Janzen, D. H. 1970. Herbivores and the number of tree species in tropical forest. American Naturalist 104:501–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karr, J. R. 1971. Structure of avian communities in selected Panama and Illinois habitats. Ecological Monographs 41:207–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karr, J. R. 1976. Seasonality, resource availability and community diversity in tropical bird communities. American Naturalist 110:973–974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karr, J. R. 1977. Ecological correlates of rarity in a tropical forest bird community. Auk 90:240–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karr, J. R. 1981. Surveying birds in the tropics. Studies in Avian Biology 6:548–553. Cooper Ornithological Society.Google Scholar
Karr, J. R. 1982. Avian extinction on Barro Colorado, Panama. A reassessment. American Naturalist 119:220–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karr, J. R. & Brawn, J. D. 1990. Food resources of understory birds in Central Panama: quantification and effects on avian populations. Studies in Avian Biology 13:58–64. Cooper Ornithological Society.Google Scholar
Karr, J. R. & Freemark, K. E. 1983. Habitat selection and environmental gradients: dynamics in the ‘stable’ tropics. Ecology 64:1481–1494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karr, J. R., Schemske, D. W. & Brokaw, N. V. 1983. Temporal variation in the understory bird community of a tropical forest. Pp. 441–153 in Leigh, E. G., Rand, A. S. & Windsor, D. M. (eds). The ecology of a tropical forest. Seasonal rhythms and long-term changes. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington. 468 pp.Google Scholar
Kattan, G. H. 1992. Rarity and vulnerability: the birds of the Cordillera central of Colombia. Conservation Biology 6:64–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kikkawa, J., Lovejoy, T. E. & Humphrey, P. S. 1980. Structural complexity and species clustering of birds in tropical rain forests. Acta XVII Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici (Berlin): 962–967.Google Scholar
Lawton, J. H. 1989. What is the relationship between population density and body size in animals? Oikos 55:429–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawton, J. H. 1990. Species richness and population dynamics of animal assemblages. Patterns in body size: abundance space. Pp. 161–169 in Hassell, J. & May, R. (eds). Population regulation and dynamics. The Royal Society, London. 304 pp.Google Scholar
Lovejoy, T. E. 1974. Bird diversity and abundance in Amazon forest communities. Living Bird 13:127–191.Google Scholar
McClure, H. E. 1969. Estimations of bird population density in primary forest of Malaya. The Malayan Nature Journal 22:179–183.Google Scholar
Mann, C. F. 1985. An avifaunal study in Kakamega Forest, Kenya, with particular reference to species diversity, weight and moult. Ostrich 56:236–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer de Schauensee, R. & Phelps, W. H. Jr. 1978. A guide to the birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA. 423 pp.Google Scholar
Munn, C. A. & Terborgh, J. 1979. Multi-species territoriality in neotropical foraging flocks. Condor 81:338–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oelke, H. 1981. Limitation of the mapping method. Studies in Avian Biology 6:114–118. Cooper Ornithological Society.Google Scholar
Oniki, Y. 1979. Is nesting success of birds low in the tropics? Biotropica 11:60–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, D. L. 1977. A pantropical comparison of bird community structure on six lowland forest sites. Condor 79:232–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pierpont, N. 1986. Interspecific aggression and the ecology of woodcreepers (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae). Dissertation. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.Google Scholar
Powell, G. V. N. 1989. On the possible contribution of mixed species flocks to species richness in neotropical avifaunas. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 24:387–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rabinowitz, D. R., Cairns, S. & Dillon, T. 1986. Seven forms of rarity and their frequency in the flora of the British Isles. Pp. 182–204 in Soulé, M. E. (ed.). Conservation biology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Mass. 584 pp.Google Scholar
Rappole, J. H., McShea, W. J. & Vega-Rivera, J. 1993. Evaluation of two survey methods in upland avian breeding communities. Journal of Field Ornithology 64:55–70.Google Scholar
Richards, P. W. 1952. The tropical rain forest. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 450 pp.Google Scholar
Robinson, S. K., Terborgh, J. & Munn, C. A. 1990. Lowland tropical forest bird communities of a site in Western Amazonia. Pp. 229–258 in Keast, A. (ed.). Biogeography and ecology of forest bird communities. SPB Academic Publishing BV. The Hague. 410 pp.Google Scholar
Samuel, M. O. & Garton, E. O. 1985. Home range: a weighted normal estimate and test of underlying assumptions. Journal of Wildlife Management 49:513–519.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schemske, D. W. & Brokaw, N. 1981. Treefalls and the distribution of understory birds in a tropical forest. Ecology 62:938–945.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoener, T. W. 1987. The geographical distribution of rarity. Oecologia 74:161–173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silva, J. M. C. Da & Constantino, R. 1988. Birds of a patch of forest on the lower Rio Guama. A re-analysis: richness, rarity, diversity, similarity and ecological preferences. Boletin Museo Paraense Emilio Goeldi Serie Zoologia 4:201–210.Google Scholar
Skutch, A. F. 1985. Clutch size, nesting success and predation on nests of neotropical birds reviewed. Pp. 575–594 in Buckley, P. A., Foster, M. S., Morton, E. S., Ridgely, R. S. & Buckley, F. G. (eds). Neotropical ornithology, Ornithological Monographs no. 36, American Ornithologists' Union, Washington. 1041 pp.Google Scholar
Terborgh, J. 1988. The big things that run the world. A sequel to E. O. Wilson. Conservation Biology 2:402–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terborgh, J., Robinson, S. K., Parker, T. A. III, Munn, C. A. & Pierpont, N. 1990. Structure and organization of an Amazonian bird community. Ecological Monographs 60:213–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Théry, M. 1990. Display repertoire and social organization of the White-fronted and White-throated manakins. Wilson Bulletin 102:123–129.Google Scholar
Théry, M. 1992. The evolution of leks through female choice: differential clustering and space utilization in six sympatric manakins. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 30:227–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Théry, M., Erard, C. & Sabatier, D. 1992. Les fruits dans le régime alimentaire de Penelope marail (Aves: Cracidae) en forêt guyanaise: frugivorie stricte et sélective? Revue d'Ecologie (Tern et Vie) 47:383–401.Google Scholar
Thiollay, J. M. 1986. Structure comparée du peuplement avien dans trois sites de forêt primaire en Guyane. Revue d'Ecologie (Terre et Vie) 41:59–105.Google Scholar
Thiollay, J. M. 1988a. Diversité spérifique et coexistence en forêt tropicale: l'occupation des milieux par une guilde d'oiseaux insectivores en Guyane. Revue d'Ecologie (Tent et Vie) 43:59–92.Google Scholar
Thiollay, J. M. 1988b. Comparative foraging success of insectivorous birds in tropical and temperate forests: ecological implications. Oikos 53:17–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thiollay, J. M. 1989a. Area requirements for the conservation of rain forest raptors and game birds in French Guiana. Conservation Biology 3:128–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thiollay, J. M. 1989b. Censusing of diurnal raptors in a primary rain forest: comparative methods and species detectability. Journal of Raptor Research 23:72–84.Google Scholar
Thiollay, J. M. 1990. Comparative diversity of temperate and tropical forest bird communities: the influence of habitat heterogeneity. Acta Oecologica 11:887–911.Google Scholar
Thiollay, J. M. 1991a. Tropical rain forest communities: emerging patterns and process of organization. Acta XX Cangressus Internationalis Ornithologici (Christchurch) 1489–1496.Google Scholar
Thiollay, J. M. 1991b. Foraging, home range use and social behaviour of a group-living rain forest raptor, the Red-throated Caracara, Daptrius americanus. Ibis 133:382–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomialojc, L., Wesolowski, T. & Walankiewicz, W. 1984. Breeding bird community of a primaeval temperate forest (Bialowiecza National Park, Poland). Acta Ornithologica 20:241–310.Google Scholar
Tostain, O., Dujardin, J. L., Erard, C. & Thiollay, J. M. 1992. Oiseaux de Guyane. Société d'Etudes Ornithologiques, Brunoy. 222 pp.Google Scholar
Willis, E. O. 1979. The composition of avian communities in remanescent woodlots in southern Brazil. Papeis Avulsos Zoologia, São Paulo 33:1–25.Google Scholar
Willis, E. O. 1981. Diversity in adversity: the behavior of two subordinate antbirds. Arquivos de Zoologia, São Paulo 30:159–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar