Nestedness structure of bird assemblages in a fragmented forestin Central Argentina: the role of selective extinction and colonization processes

DARDANELLI, S.; BELLIS LAURA M.

Animal Biodiversity and Conservation

Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona

Lugar: Barcelona; Año: 2021

1578-665X

Nestedness analysis constitutes animportant tool to understand the processes that shape wildlife communities. Italso allows a quick first evaluation of species extinction proneness infragmented landscapes.Here, we test whether avian assemblages in the fragmentedEspinal forest exhibit nested subset patterns. Furthermore, we examined whetherselective extinction or selective colonization are driving nested subsetpatterns.We studied avian assemblages in 13 forest fragments in centralArgentina along breeding and non-breeding seasons. We completed PartialSpearman rank correlations to explore the relationship between nestedness rankorder and habitat patch variables and species life history traits relatedtospecies extinction proneness and colonization rate.Bird species showed strongnestedness patterns, both for the whole incidencematrix and for forest fragments and species separately.Nestednesspatterns were similar during the breeding and non-breeding seasons.Thenested rank order of forest fragments was correlated with area and distance tonearest fragment, which are patch characteristics known to increase speciesextinction probabilities. The nested rank order of species was correlated withspeciesminimum area requirement, trophic guildand range size, which are traits linked to extinction risk.Selective extinctionprocesses rather than are selective colonizationaredrivingnestedness patterns of bird assemblages in fragmented Espinal forest.The mosteffective way to preserve forest bird species in the Espinal seems to be by protectingthe larger fragments of this relictual forest.