Are novel ecosystems suitable habitats for native birds? Birds association with spontaneous vegetation patches in the argentinean pampas.

CAVALLI MATILDE; MARTINEZ- CURCI NATALIA; BALADRÓN ALEJANDRO; BÓ MARIA SUSANA; CHIARADÍA NICOLAS; PELUC, SUSANA INES; ISACCH, JUAN PABLO

BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2022 vol. 31 p. 811 - 830

0960-3115

Novel ecosystems are characterized by species compositions and relative abundancesthat differ from those that occurred previously and have the potential for introducingecological change. In this study, we evaluated bird species that are able to dwell innovel ecosystems in a representative area of the Pampas region. We compared birdassemblages and vegetation structure of different types of novel ecosystems with nativeand exotic vegetation by using the point-count method of variable radios. We found thateven when many bird species dwell in novel ecosystems, species with narrower habitatrequirements avoid them. Many exotic birds were associated with patches dominated bynon-native vegetation, and some native generalist species were nevertheless observed inthese same habitats. Our study suggests that although a large number of native speciesclosely associated with native vegetation may avoid these novel ecosystems, they couldrepresent alternative habitats for habitat generalist native fauna in the context ofdeclining native ecosystems.