Changes in the bird communities of Nothofagus forests in a long-term plot in Tierra del Fuego

BENITEZ, J; LENCINAS, MV; CHAVES, JE; DE CRUZ, M; MARTÍNEZ PASTUR, GJ

Austral Ecology

John Wiley and Sons Inc

Año: 2023 vol. 49 p. 1 - 16

Long-term studies have proven to be important to characterize animal communities and analyse the ecological responses to climate and environmental changes. These studies are necessary to determine the natural community variability (e.g., richness and density) to develop better conservation strategies to face climate changes. Here, we analysed the natural changes in the structure and functional traits of bird communities over 13 consecutive years (2010–2022) and determined the number of years of sampling needed to obtain a good estimation of the community structure variables in deciduous high latitude Nothofagus forests. Using point counts, we studied closed (80% of canopy cover) and open (40% of canopy cover) forests inside the Tierra del Fuego National Park. Species richness, density, biomass, and functional traits (migratory status, trophic groups, nest type, and feeding strata) were analysed using generalized linear models with forest type (closed and open) and year (2010– 2022) as the main factors, while the standard error (SE) of sampling obtained from one to 12 sampling years was compared. Richness was significantly higher in open forests (p12years for biomass. This study highlights the importance of long-term studies to visualize natural variations in undisturbed habitats along time.