Does mixed-species flocking influence how birds respond to a gradient of land-use intensity?

ABSTRACT: Conservation biology is increasingly concerned with preserving interactions among species such as mutualisms in landscapes facing anthropogenic change. We investigated how one kind of mutualism, mixed-species bird flocks, influences the way in which birds respond to different habitat types of varying land-use intensity. We use data from a well-replicated, large-scale study in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of India, in which flocks were observed inside forest reserves, in 'buffer zones' of degraded forest or timber plantations, and in areas of intensive agriculture. We find flocks affected the responses of birds in three ways: (i) species with high propensity to flock were more sensitive to land use; (ii) different flock types, dominated by different flock leaders, varied in their sensiti

SUBMITTER: Mammides C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4528563 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature