Bird Communities of Northern Forests: Ecological Correlates of Diversity and Abundance in the Understory
Willson MF and Comet TA. 1996. Bird Communities of Northern Forests: Ecological Correlates of Diversity and Abundance in the Understory. The Condor. 98(2):350-362
The bird community of the understory in far northern forests is markedly more diverse and abundant in deciduous than coniferous forests. Avian species richness within each vegetation type did not increase with size of source fauna, which can be interpreted as indicating that these communities are "saturated." However, the communities may not be saturated either in the long-term view (post-Pleistocene lag) or in the short-term view (because marked population fluctuations may constrain diversity short of saturation). Differences in species diversity were not readily attributable to geographic barriers such as the coastal mountain ranges or to metapopulation dynamics. Local ecological factors that may contribute to avian abundance and diversity included density of litter invertebrates and understory vegetation structure, and possibly foliage invertebrate abundance and nest safety. Some typically understory birds in coastal conifer forests often shifted nest sites to moss wads in the canopy and subcanopy.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Willson, Mary; Comet, Tallchief
- Units
- CAKN , DENA , WRST , YUCH
- Keywords
- Assemblages, Avian Community, avifaunas, bird community, British Columbia, Habitat, Nest Sites, nest-site selection, Patterns, Predation, Rainforest, regional processes, Richness, saturation, Species Diversity, Species Richness, Subarctic, Understory, warblers, Yukon