INVESTIGADORES
GALETTO Leonardo
artículos
Título:
Movement Patterns of Frugivorous Birds Promote Functional Connectivity among Chaco Serrano Woodland Fragments in Argentina.
Autor/es:
DÍAZ VÉLEZ, MARÍA CELESTE; SILVA, W.; PIZO, MA; GALETTO L.
Revista:
BIOTROPICA
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2015 vol. 47 p. 475 - 483
ISSN:
0006-3606
Resumen:
Movement patterns of frugivorous birds may be altered in anthropogenically fragmented landscapes, with possible consequences forseed dispersal and plant recruitment. We studied the movement patterns and functional connectivity of six frugivorous bird species(Colaptes melanochloros, Thraupis bonariensis, Pitangus sulphuratus, Saltator aurantiirostris, Turdus amaurochalinus, and Elaenia spp.) in a fragmentedChaco-woodland landscape in Argentina. We recorded the directions of bird movements (arrivals and departures) and whether their destinationwas oriented toward a specific neighboring fragment. We evaluated the movement rates, distance of interpatch movement, andfunctional connectivity within the landscape for the six bird species. We applied a novel approach, graph theory, to represent bird movementpatterns in the landscape and the functional connections among fragments for each bird species. Bird movements were recordedat point-count stations established along the edges of each fragment. The directions of arrival and departure movements from and toneighboring fragments revealed complex movement patterns. However, the destination of bird movements after leaving the focal fragmentswas usually concentrated on only a few neighboring fragments of different sizes. Pitangus sulphuratus and T. bonariensis showed largermovement rates and higher functional connectivity (number of graphs and functional area) than the other frugivorous species. Thefunctional connectivity mediated by movement of frugivorous birds may promote seed dispersal of many bird-dispersed plant species.As forest loss and fragmentation of Chaco subtropical forests increase, understanding the pivotal role of mobile links exerted by avianseed dispersers is vital to maintaining and conserving this unique ecosystem.