Open Access
Subscription Access
Development of a Bird Habitat Resource Classification Scheme Based on Vegetation Structure Analysis
In order to design a conservation strategy for birds inhabiting the Great Western Woodlands (GWW) in southwestern Australia, we adopted a new approach for classifying birds into functional groups (BHFGs) based on an analysis of vegetation structure-related habitat resources (VHR). On the basis of hierarchical cluster analysis of the VHR variables we selected here, we selected a model that incorporated nine-BHFGs. This yielded a classification system that, due to our different input sources, is distinct from an existing foraging guild-based system. In conjunction with GIS technique, this new classification system has potential for effectively predicting and mapping landscape-scale habitat distribution.
Keywords
Bird Habitat, Functional Group Classification, Landscape-Scale Analysis, Sustainable Management, Vegetation Structure Analysis.
User
Font Size
Information
- Mac Arthur, R. H. and Mac Arthur, J. W., On bird species diversity. Ecology, 1961, 42, 594–598.
- Gilmore, A. M., The influence of vegetation structure on the density of insectivorous birds. In Birds of Eucalypt Forests and Woodlands: Ecology, Conservation, Management (eds Keast, A. et al.), Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Limited, Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia, 1985, pp. 21–31.
- Hinsley, S. A., Hill, R. A., Fuller, R. J., Bellamy, P. E. and Rothery, P., Bird species distributions across woodland canopy structure gradients. Community Ecol., 2009, 10, 99–110.
- Marchant, S. and Higgins, P. J., Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, Australia, 1st edn, 1990.
- Rodewald, P. G. and Smith, K. G., Short-term effects of understory and overstory management on breeding birds in Arkansas oak-hickory forests. J. Wildl. Manage., 1998, 62, 1411–1417.
- Clawges, R., Vierling, K., Vierling, L. and Rowell, E., The use of airborne lidar to assess avian species diversity, density, and occurrence in a pine/aspen forest. Remote Sensing Environ., 2008, 112, 2064–2073.
- James, F. C., Ordinations of habitat relationships among breeding birds. Wilson Bull., 1971, 83, 215–236.
- Donald, P. F., Fuller, R. J., Evans, A. D. and Gough, S. J., Effects of forest management and grazing on breeding bird communities in plantations of broadleaved and coniferous trees in western England. Biol. Convserv., 1998, 85, 183–197.
- Braithwaite, L. W., Austin, M. P., Clayton, M., Turner, J. and Nicholls, A. O., On predicting the presence of birds in Eucalyptus forest types. Biol. Conserv., 1989, 50, 33–50.
- Hagan, J. M. and Meehan, A. L., The effectiveness of stand-level and landscape-level variables for explaining bird occurrence in an industrial forest. For. Sci., 2002, 48, 231–242.
- Swift, B. L., Larson, J. S. and DeGraaf, R. M., Relationship of breeding bird density and diversity to habitat variables in forested wetlands. Wilson Bull., 1984, 96, 48–59.
- Arnold, G. W., The effects of habitat structure and floristics on the densities of bird species in Wandoo woodland. Aust. Wildl. Res., 1988, 15, 499–510.
- Chettri, N., Deb, D. C., Sharma, E. and Jackson, D., The relationship between bird communities and habitat: a study along a trekking corridor in the Sikkim Himalaya. Mt. Res. Dev., 2005, 25, 235–243.
- Watson, A., Judd, S., Watson, J., Lam, A. and Mackenzie, D., The Extraordinary Nature of the Great Western Woodlands, The Wilderness Society WA, Perth, Western Australia, 2008.
- AUSLIG, Vegetation: Atlas of Australian Resources, The Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, ACT, Australia, 1990.
- ABARES, Australian forest profiles, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Australian Government, Canberra, ACT; http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/forestsaustralia (accessed on 22 March 2016).
- Pate, J. S. and Beard, J. S., Kwongan – Plant Life of the Sandplain, University of Western Australia Press, Perth, Western Australia, 1984, 1st edn.
- Newby, K. R., The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia: Records of the Western Australian Museum Part 1 and 2, Western Australian Museum and Western Australia Biological Surveys Committee, Perth, Western Australia, 1984.
- Newby, K. R., The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia: Records of the Western Australian Museum Part 3, Western Australian Museum and Western Australia Biological Surveys Committee, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 1985.
- Newby, K. R., The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia: Records of the Western Australian Museum Part 4, Western Australian Museum and Western Australia Biological Surveys Committee, Perth, Western Australia, 1988.
- Newby, K. R., The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia: Records of the Western Australian Museum Part 8, Western Australian Museum and Western Australia Biological Surveys Committee, Perth, Western Australia, 1992.
- Newby, K. R., The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia: Records of the Western Australian Museum Part 9, Western Australian Museum and Western Australia Biological Surveys Committee, Perth, Western Australia, 1993.
- Newby, K. R., The Biological Survey of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia: Records of the Western Australian Museum Part 11 and 12, Western Australian Museum and Western Australia Biological Surveys Committee, Perth, Western Australia, 1995.
- Beard, J. S., The natural regions of the deserts of Western Australia. J. Ecol., 1969, 57, 677–711.
- Lee, P. S., Mackey, B. G. and Berry, S. L., Modelling vegetation structure-based bird habitat resources in Australian temperate woodlands, using multi-sensors. Eur. J. Remote Sensing, 2013, 46, 641–674.
- Grubb Jr, T. C., Weather-dependent foraging behavior of some birds wintering in a deciduous woodland. Condor, 1975, 77, 175– 182.
- Recher, H. F., Holmes, R. T., Schulz, M., Shields, J. and Kavanagh, R., Foraging patterns of breeding birds in eucalypt forest and woodland of southeastern Australia. Aust. J. Ecol., 1985, 10, 399–419.
- Remsen, J. J. V. and Robinson, S. K., A classification scheme for foraging behavior of birds in terrestrial habitats. Stud. J. Avian Biol., 1990, 13, 144–160.
- Kominami, Y., Sato, T., Takeshita, K., Manabe, T., Endo, A. and Noma, N., Classification of bird-dispersed plants by fruiting phenology, fruit size, and growth form in a primary lucidophyllous forest: an analysis, with implications for the conservation of fruit-bird interactions. Ornithol. Sci., 2003, 2, 3–23.
- Elliott, C. P., Lindenmayer, D. B., Cunningham, S. A. and Young, A. G., Landscape context affects honeyeater communities and their foraging behaviour in Australia: implications for plant pollination. Landsc. Ecol., 2012, 27, 393–404.
- Wells, K. et al., Trait-dependent occupancy dynamics of birds in temperate forest landscapes: fine-scale observations in a hierarchical multi-species framework. Anim. Conserv., 2012, 15, 1–12.
- Wilson, M. F., Avian community organization and habitat structure. Ecology, 1974, 55, 1017–1029.
- Antos, M. J. and Bennett, A. F., How important are different types of temperate woodlands for ground-foraging birds? Wildl. Res., 2005, 32, 557–572.
- Mac Nally, R., Habitat-specific guild structure of forest birds in south-eastern Australia: a regional scale perspective. J. Anim. Ecol., 1994, 63, 988–1001.
Abstract Views: 377
PDF Views: 99