INVESTIGADORES
LEON Evelina Jesica
artículos
Título:
Impact of grasslands grazed by cattle on taxonomic and functional aspects of bird assemblages in floodplain wetlands of the Paraná River
Autor/es:
LORENZÓN, RODRIGO E.; SOVRANO, LORENA V.; LEÓN, EVELINA J.; BELTZER, ADOLFO H.; RONCHI-VIRGOLINI, ANA L.
Revista:
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Año: 2023
ISSN:
0960-3115
Resumen:
Floodplain wetlands are frequently used for cattle grazing so understanding the impact ofthis activity is crucial for biodiversity conservation and management. Cattle grazing canlead to the replacement of tall natural grasslands with shorter, grazed ones, a structurallydifferent habitat. Understanding the effects of this change on birds in floodplain wetlandsis necessary for effective conservation efforts. Here, we assessed the relationship betweenpresence-absence of grazed grasslands in the floodplain landscape and i) number of habitatsper site, ii) taxonomic and functional bird diversities, iii) frequency and abundanceof bird species, and iv) bird functional traits, using data from extensive bird sampling(via point counts) in the Paraná River floodplain. We found scale-dependent results. Atpoint-count scale, presence of grazed grasslands led to an increase in number of habitats,bird species richness, and functional diversity per site. When we compared bird diversityindices based on the combination of all point counts using rarefaction curves, onlyfunctional diversity was higher in counts with grazed grasslands. One species (Geothlypisvelata) was associated with the absence of grazed grasslands while 27 species (17%) wererelated to their presence. Thirteen bird traits (48%), including non-wetland dependency,were positively associated with grazed grasslands. Our results show that grazed grasslandsincrease bird diversities because a set of species, mainly birds typical of agricultural uplands,are associated with this cattle-created habitat. Further, birds associated with grazedgrasslands modified the functional structure of assemblages, adding even exclusive traitssuch as brood parasitism that can pose a threat to floodplain birds.
