Global relationships between tree-cavity excavators and forest bird richness
Global monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change can be aided by the effective use of indicators. Tree-cavity excavators, the majority of which are woodpeckers (Picidae), are known to be useful indicators of the health or naturalness of forest ecosystems and the diversity of forest birds. They...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.192177 |
| _version_ | 1818452219563868160 |
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| author | Yntze van der Hoek Gabriel V. Gaona Michał Ciach Kathy Martin |
| author_facet | Yntze van der Hoek Gabriel V. Gaona Michał Ciach Kathy Martin |
| author_sort | Yntze van der Hoek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change can be aided by the effective use of indicators. Tree-cavity excavators, the majority of which are woodpeckers (Picidae), are known to be useful indicators of the health or naturalness of forest ecosystems and the diversity of forest birds. They are indicators of the latter due to shared associations with particular forest elements and because of their role in facilitating the occurrence of other species through the provision of nesting cavities. Here, we investigated whether these positive correlations between excavators and other forest birds are also found at broad geographical scales. We used global distribution maps to extract richness estimates of tree-cavity nesting and forest-associated birds, which we grouped by zoogeographic regions. We then created generalized least-squares models to assess the relationships between these groups of birds. We show that richness of tree-cavity excavating birds correlates positively with that of secondary cavity nesters and other forest birds (generalists and specialists) at global scales, but with variation across zoogeographic regions. As many excavators are relatively easy to detect, play keystone roles at local scales and are effective management targets, we propose that excavators are useful for biodiversity monitoring across multiple spatial scales and geographical regions, especially in the tropics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:19:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-68f396a845bd4a83ba0a97ed3e6fe604 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:19:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-68f396a845bd4a83ba0a97ed3e6fe6042022-12-21T22:46:58ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032020-07-017710.1098/rsos.192177192177Global relationships between tree-cavity excavators and forest bird richnessYntze van der HoekGabriel V. GaonaMichał CiachKathy MartinGlobal monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change can be aided by the effective use of indicators. Tree-cavity excavators, the majority of which are woodpeckers (Picidae), are known to be useful indicators of the health or naturalness of forest ecosystems and the diversity of forest birds. They are indicators of the latter due to shared associations with particular forest elements and because of their role in facilitating the occurrence of other species through the provision of nesting cavities. Here, we investigated whether these positive correlations between excavators and other forest birds are also found at broad geographical scales. We used global distribution maps to extract richness estimates of tree-cavity nesting and forest-associated birds, which we grouped by zoogeographic regions. We then created generalized least-squares models to assess the relationships between these groups of birds. We show that richness of tree-cavity excavating birds correlates positively with that of secondary cavity nesters and other forest birds (generalists and specialists) at global scales, but with variation across zoogeographic regions. As many excavators are relatively easy to detect, play keystone roles at local scales and are effective management targets, we propose that excavators are useful for biodiversity monitoring across multiple spatial scales and geographical regions, especially in the tropics.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.192177facilitator speciesindicator speciesmanagement surrogatessecondary cavity-nesting birdspicidaespecies interactions |
| spellingShingle | Yntze van der Hoek Gabriel V. Gaona Michał Ciach Kathy Martin Global relationships between tree-cavity excavators and forest bird richness Royal Society Open Science facilitator species indicator species management surrogates secondary cavity-nesting birds picidae species interactions |
| title | Global relationships between tree-cavity excavators and forest bird richness |
| title_full | Global relationships between tree-cavity excavators and forest bird richness |
| title_fullStr | Global relationships between tree-cavity excavators and forest bird richness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Global relationships between tree-cavity excavators and forest bird richness |
| title_short | Global relationships between tree-cavity excavators and forest bird richness |
| title_sort | global relationships between tree cavity excavators and forest bird richness |
| topic | facilitator species indicator species management surrogates secondary cavity-nesting birds picidae species interactions |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.192177 |
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