Patios for hummingbirds: First steps to restore the native plant-hummingbird interaction in Cordoba city, Argentina

CALVIÑO, A; SILVA, WR; DÍAZ-VÉLEZ, C

Foz de Iguazu

Congreso; VIII World Conference on Ecological Restoration; 2017

Society for Ecological Restoration

Conservation of ecological interactions among native species is one of the biggest challenges in the face of worldwide increasing urbanization. Native vegetation, is typically reduced compared with exotic vegetation in urban environments. Nevertheless, some nectarivorous birds have been observed feeding on urban native plants. Here, we addressed hummingbird visitation to native and exotic flowering species in urban domestic backyards (patios) in Cordoba city, Argentina. Three-hour sample periods were performed in each patio from early spring to late summer (total sampling effort: 135 hours). Chlorostilbon aureoventris performed 92% of the visits, followed by Sappho sparganura (7%) and Heliomaster furcifer (1%). An exotic Bignoniaceae (Campsis radicans) was the most visited by C. aureoventris, and S. sparganura fed exclusively in Pyrostegia venusta another exotic Bignoniaceae. Despite the overall higher preference for exotic Bignoniaceae, a seasonal switch in C. aureoventris feeding behavior was observed. In spring, when only the 6% of the flowering plants were native, half of the visits were registered on native species. In summer, however, when 40% of the flowering species were native, visits were mainly registered on exotic flowers. The profuse flowering of exotic ornamental plants may have counterbalanced its relative abundance compared with native species. Given that the native Bignoniaceae Dolichandra cynanchoides depends on hummingbirds for setting seeds, a program for the reintroduction of this species is proposed to restore the interaction between hummingbirds and native species in Cordoba city.