Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Development of a Bird Habitat Resource Classification Scheme Based on Vegetation Structure Analysis


Affiliations
1 Hanyang University, 622-ho 204-dong, Wangsimni-ro 222, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
2 Griffith School of Environment, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, QLD 4222, Australia
 

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
Notifications
Font Size

  • 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: 395

PDF Views: 109




  • Development of a Bird Habitat Resource Classification Scheme Based on Vegetation Structure Analysis

Abstract Views: 395  |  PDF Views: 109

Authors

Peter S. Lee
Hanyang University, 622-ho 204-dong, Wangsimni-ro 222, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
Brendan G. Mackey
Griffith School of Environment, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, QLD 4222, Australia

Abstract


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.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv115%2Fi12%2F2307-2315