Bird diversity along elevational gradients in the Dry Tropical Andes of northern Chile: The potential role of Aymara indigenous traditional agriculture.

ABSTRACT: Understanding diversity patterns along environmental gradients lies at the heart of community ecology and conservation. Previous studies have found variation in bird diversity and density along "natural" elevational gradients in the Tropical Andes Hotspot. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about how bird communities respond to traditional land-use patterns, in association with other multiple drivers, along elevations. In the present study, we investigated biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic sources of variation associated with bird species diversity, density and turnover along a 3000-m elevational gradient, in southern limit of the Tropical Andes Hotspot, northern Chile. Over four seasons, we conducted 472 bird point count surveys and established 118 plots distributed across the De

SUBMITTER: Araneda P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6281285 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature