Assessing the use of forest islands by parrot species in a neotropical savanna

BERKUNSKY, I.; SIMOY, M.V.; CEPEDA, R.; MARINELLI, C.; KACOLIRIS, F.; DANIELE, G.; CORTELEZZI, A.; DIÁZ, J.; FRIEDMAN, M.; ARAMBURU, R.

Avian Conservation & Ecology

Resilience Alliance - Acadia University

Año: 2015 vol. 10

1712-6568

Understanding the effect of habitat fragmentation is a fundamental yet complicated aim of many ecological studies. Benisavanna is a naturally fragmented forest habitat, where forest islands exhibit variation in resources and threats. To understand how theavailability of resources and threats affect the use of forest islands by parrots, we applied occupancy modeling to quantify use anddetection probabilities for 12 parrot species on 60 forest islands. The presence of urucuri (Attalea phalerata) and macaw (Acrocomiaaculeata) palms, the number of tree cavities on the islands, and the presence of selective logging,and fire were included as covariatesassociated with availability of resources and threats. The model-selection analysis indicated that both resources and threats variablesexplained the use of forest islands by parrots. For most species, the best models confirmed predictions. The number of cavities waspositively associated with use of forest islands by 11 species. The area of the island and the presence of macaw palm showed a positiveassociation with the probability of use by seven and five species, respectively, while selective logging and fire showed a negative associationwith five and six species, respectively. The Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis), the critically endangered parrot species endemicto our study area, was the only species that showed a negative association with both threats. Monitoring continues to be essential toevaluate conservation and management actions of parrot populations. Understanding of how species are using this natural fragmentedhabitat will help determine which fragments should be preserved and which conservation actions are needed.