Disappearance of insectivorous birds from tropical forest fragments.

ABSTRACT: Determining the impact of forest disturbance and fragmentation on tropical biotas is a central goal of conservation biology. Among tropical forest birds, understory insectivores are particularly sensitive to habitat disturbance and fragmentation, despite their relatively small sizes and freedom from hunting pressure. Why these birds are especially vulnerable to fragmentation is not known. Our data indicate that the best determinant of the persistence of understory insectivorous birds in small fragments is the ability to disperse through deforested countryside habitats. This finding contradicts our initial hypothesis that the decline of insectivorous birds in forest fragments is caused by impoverished invertebrate prey base in fragments. Although we observed significantly fewer insectivorou

SUBMITTER: Sekercioglu CH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC117549 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature