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Bird ecology topics
IN230 Habitat associations of bird species and effectiveness of survey in Indonesian forests (Weeks 2 - 8; need to have completed IL001) There are around 80 species of birds regularly found in the forests of Lambusango; about 50% of these are endemic to the Wallacea region and range from large hornbills to tiny sunbirds. Bird communities are being surveyed as part of the Opwall program at 16 sites at each camp using 50m fixed-radius circular plot point counts. Each study site is being surveyed three times, with the total number of species detected after three counts being recorded in order to establish patch occupancy rates. Sampling is being conducted each morning between 06:00 – 07:30, this being the period where bird activity and vocalisation is greatest, yielding the greatest number of contacts. Point count samples are begun immediately on arrival at each study site, with no ‘settling in’ period being used. This has been shown to allow the recording of any birds disturbed by the surveyors, thereby increasing the number of contacts made per count. A 10-minute sampling period is used, as counts of this length have a reduced likelihood of multiple contact recording, while still being capable of detecting >80% of bird species present in an area. In addition, mist net surveys could be completed and point counts conducted in the canopy to compare with ground based point counts. Projects within this topic could concentrate on determining the habitat associations of particular groups (e.g. hornbills, cuckoo shrikes, flowerpeckers, etc.) or could assess how the communities overall change in relation to levels of forest disturbance. Methodological studies could also be included such as comparing the results of analysis of taped calls at the point count sites with those recorded during the actual counts or the effectiveness of mist net surveys versus point counts.
IN231 Speciation of birds in SE Sulawesi (Weeks 3 – 8; need to have completed IL001) Just as long term studies of bird communities on the Galapagos Islands identified changes in bill size, total weight and other characteristics of the same bird species between different populations and between years, studies in the archipelago of SE Sulawesi has similarly identified these differences. Recent genetic and observational studies on islands off the coast of Buton in SE Sulawesi have shown that the same species on different islands have begun to diverge from the populations on Buton in response to available niches and competition from other species on the each of the islands studied. It is probable that the same divergence in characteristics such as total weight, wing length, bill shape and other measurements has occurred on the large island of Buton in comparison with the mainland of Sulawesi. This topic will involve working with two experienced researchers, mist netting birds from the centre of Buton Island (2 weeks), the north of Buton Island close to the mainland of Sulawesi (2 weeks) and the mainland of Sulawesi (2 weeks). Using mist nets, birds will be trapped in the study areas and morphometric details recorded from each trapped bird. Feathers will be collected from some birds for DNA and stable isotope analysis. Information on behaviour of the birds will also be collected. Comparison of the morphometric data from birds on Buton Island and mainland of Sulawesi with the data collected in previous years from the outlying islands of the Wakatobi and Kabaena Islands should reveal patterns of colonisation and where the founder populations originated, as well as provide data on factors driving divergence between populations and eventual speciation.
IH232 Island biogeography and behaviour of the birds of the Wakatobi, Indonesia (Weeks 2 – 8) Studies of the bird populations of the Wakatobi archipelago have, until now, centred on the mist-netting of individuals in order to record morphometric information and collect genetic samples. These studies have shown that several island populations are in the process of divergence and may soon represent full species. However, it is unclear what is driving this divergence. This project will use behavioural observations of feeding and flocking to look at competition between several small bird species, which may be competing for food and other resources. Data will also be gathered on the density of each species present on the different islands. This work will concentrate on the lemon-bellied white-eye, which is a generalist feeder and appears to be speciating particularly quickly; the olive-backed sunbird which is a specialist nectar feeder, but may eat insects at times; and the grey-sided flowerpecker, a nectar “robber”, which does not appear to be present on all islands. By quantifying the interactions between these bird species, their food and habitat preferences, and their population densities, this study will provide important insights into what is driving the evolution of the bird communities of the Wakatobi islands.
HM233 Factors affecting bird communities in cloud forests, Honduras (Weeks 2 - 8; need to have completed HM001) Birds are excellent indicators of forest ecosystem health as their abundance and diversity is closely related habitat disturbance. This topic takes advantage of the existing, fixed-method point count survey work being undertaken for birds at each of the 145 survey sites, as well as the forest structure data gathered at each of these sites. Experienced ornithologists will help train the dissertation students in the identification of the bird species from both calls and sightings. Aspects of these data sets can then be analyzed to study a whole range of impacts on bird communities. For example, presence-absence data for each species at each survey site can be uploaded onto existing GIS maps of the park to investigate the main environmental variables affecting species distribution patterns. Species distribution maps can then be collated to bird species richness maps of the park to identify diversity hotspots or to make comparisons of species richness between the core and buffer zones of the park. The effect of deforestation and forest disturbance on bird communities can also be investigated by comparing bird abundance and diversity with habitat variables collected at each point count site. In addition, some sites around the park are sampled via mist netting, yielding morphometric measurements and allowing identification of elusive species not sampled by point counts. Mist data may be used to investigate ecological interactions between bird species. For example, different species join the dawn chorus at different times (as indicated by data collected during point counts) and it would be interesting to see if the order in which species call correlates with the ecology of the species or morphological characteristics, such as the size of the eye relative to the head size.
SW234 The effects of habitat, elephant damage and fire management on winter bird communities in Welgevonden, South Africa (Weeks 4 - 8; need to have completed SW003) Each summer and winter for two years prior to the 2012 season, 40 sites across Welgevonden Game Reserve have been surveyed for bird diversity through point counts. The habitat assessment at each site will measure spatial heterogeneity, dominant tree and shrub species, levels of elephant impact, evidence of fire damage, and the veld condition. These data can be used to group the sites according to levels of elephant damage, state of recovery from fire damage and habitat type to compare bird communities. Principal Component Analysis can be used to identify the main habitat and environmental features affecting the distribution of the more common bird species. Additionally, satellite data for the region and derived environmental data could then be used to determine ranges of these species and estimate population sizes. Students working at Welgevonden will spend half of their time in the field whilst the other half will be spent in camp doing data entry, completing a lecture course on African Conservation and independent work on dissertations.
PP235 A comparison of the bird fauna in the river edge, varzea, aguajale and liana forest types in Pacaya Samiria, Peru (Weeks 2 - 8; need to have completed PP001) This topic will utilise the existing transects that pass through varzea (flooded forest, which will be mostly dry in the July survey season), aguajale palm swamps and dense liana forests. Mist nets will be used to assess community structures between habitat types which over a time series can track changes in abundance and species composition. The use of mist nets allows for quantitatively reliable data to be produced for tropical understory birds and also allows for the identification of birds that are shy or are seldom vocal, which will minimize observer bias.
PP236 The importance of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Peru, for wading birds (Weeks 2 - 8; need to have completed PP001) One of the main reasons for the designation of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve is the protection of the extensive wading bird populations that utilise the wetlands during the dry season in particular. This topic line counts on a variety of habitats along the river and adjacent wetland areas. At each site, the habitat being used by each of the bird species could be noted (e.g. open water, open water on the river edge, wading in >0.1m water, wading in waters edge to 0.1m, lower shore, upper shore, etc.). These data could then be analysed to estimate populations of herons, egrets, cormorants, screamers, waders, ducks and other wading birds comparing habitat preferences of each of the main species.
MI237 Influence of habitat type and disturbance on avian communities in spiny forest, Madagascar (Weeks 1 - 6) Birds are often used as indicator species for overall ecosystem condition, with species from different ecological niches being impacted to varying degrees by habitat disturbance. The avifauna of the Ifotaka protected area is composed of at least 62 species, with a number of restricted range species, and other species being restricted to particular habitats. Students choosing this subject will undertake timed species counts and mist net surveys to make comparisons between avian communities in different habitat types (low spiny thicket, high spiny thicket and gallery forest) and between differing levels of human habitat disturbance. These dissertation subjects will contribute to our understanding of the avian communities of Ifotaka, and in particular to determining the habitat preferences and relative impacts of habitat disturbance on the bird species from different ecological niches and of different levels of conservation priority in the protected area.
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