Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) invasion strongly decreases Chaco serrano forest bird diversity but favors its seeds dispersers

BELLIS, LAURA M.; ASTUDILLO, AGUSTINA; GAVIER-PIZARRO, GREGORIO I.; DARDANELLI, SEBASTIÁN; LANDI, MARCOS; HOYOS, LAURA

BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2021 vol. 23 p. 723 - 739

1387-3547

In central Argentina, the glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) is an aggressive invasive species, replacing native forests and forming dense stands with total absence of understory. However, the consequences of these structural changes on bird communities are unknown. Our goal was to examine the response of the avian community to these changes studying how the glossy privet invasion is changing bird diversity, focusing on the potential dissimilar responses regarding life history traits, and how these responses may interact in turn with the invasion process. Here, we compared the avian?habitat relationships in forest patches with different levels of invasion from a landscape approach. Vegetation (NDVI texture indices) variables based on a Landsat 5 TM image and topography (slope and altitude) variables were estimated. Bird richness had a substantial reduction in glossy privet forests, losing up to 37 % of bird species. Bird assemblage structure changed (in average 72 %) among invasion conditions to assemblages with a prevalence of bird feeders of L. lucidum, which increased their abundance in the cold season when Serrano forest is no fruitful. We concluded that bird diversity and simplification of assemblage structure was directly related to the structural complexity loss caused by the level of glossy privet invasion. The increment in the abundance of birds feeders of glossy privet increasing, even more, the spreading of L. lucidum. Considering, the future expansion of the L lucidum and that it has very few vulnerabilities to its control, bird forest species in particular and diversity in general are seriously committed.