Bitani Nasiphi, Cordier Craig P, Ehlers Smith David A, Ehlers Smith Yvette C, Downs Colleen T
Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg South Africa.
Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife Pietermaritzburg South Africa.
Ecol Evol. 2023 Aug 31;13(9):e10439. doi: 10.1002/ece3.10439. eCollection 2023 Sep.
Forest transformation has major impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Identifying the influence of forest habitat structure and composition on avian functional communities is important for conserving and managing forest systems. This study investigated the effect of forest structure and composition characteristics on bird species community structure, habitat use and functional diversity in 14 Mistbelt Forest patches of the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. We surveyed bird communities using point counts. We quantified bird functional diversity for each forest patch using three diversity indices: functional richness, functional evenness and functional divergence. We further assessed species-specific responses by focussing on three avian forest specialists, orange ground-thrush , forest canary and Cape parrot . We found that bird community and forest-specialist species responses to forest structure and tree species diversity differed. Also, forest structural complexity, canopy cover and tree species richness were the main forest characteristics better at explaining microhabitat influence on bird functional diversity. Forest patches with relatively high structural complexity and tree species richness had higher functional richness. Different structural characteristics influenced habitat use by the three forest specialists. Tree species diversity influenced and . positively, while responded negatively to forest patches with high tree species richness. Our study showed that site-scale forest structure and composition characteristics are important for bird species richness and functional richness. Forest patches with high tree species diversity and structural complexity should be maintained to conserve forest specialists, bird species richness and functional richness.
森林转变对生物多样性和生态系统功能有重大影响。识别森林栖息地结构和组成对鸟类功能群落的影响对于森林系统的保护和管理至关重要。本研究调查了南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省中部14个雾带森林斑块中森林结构和组成特征对鸟类物种群落结构、栖息地利用和功能多样性的影响。我们使用点计数法调查鸟类群落。我们使用三个多样性指数对每个森林斑块的鸟类功能多样性进行量化：功能丰富度、功能均匀度和功能离散度。我们进一步通过关注三种鸟类森林专家物种，即橙胸地鸫、森林金丝雀和海角鹦鹉，来评估特定物种的反应。我们发现鸟类群落和森林专家物种对森林结构和树种多样性的反应不同。此外，森林结构复杂性、树冠覆盖度和树种丰富度是能更好地解释微生境对鸟类功能多样性影响的主要森林特征。结构复杂性和树种丰富度相对较高的森林斑块具有更高的功能丰富度。不同的结构特征影响了这三种森林专家物种对栖息地的利用。树种多样性对……和……有正向影响，而……对树种丰富度高的森林斑块反应消极。我们的研究表明，场地尺度的森林结构和组成特征对鸟类物种丰富度和功能丰富度很重要。应维持具有高树种多样性和结构复杂性的森林斑块，以保护森林专家物种、鸟类物种丰富度和功能丰富度。
