| | |
Summary: Bird Community Dynamics and Habitat Associations in Karst,
Mangrove and Pterocarpus Forest Fragments in an Urban Zone in
Puerto Rico
MIGUEL A. ACEVEDO
1,2
AND T. MITCHELL AIDE
2
2
Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico PO Box 23360 San Juan PR 00931
1
miguel_a_acevedo@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT.--Puerto Rico's forest cover decreased to less than 10% in the early 1900's leaving few forest
patches available for migrant and resident birds. In this process of deforestation karst hills and coastal
wetlands have been some of the most severely modified forest types; however, we know little about their
bird community dynamics and their relation with habitat variables. To address this issue we studied bird
species composition and habitat characteristics in karst forest and two coastal forested wetlands (mangrove
and Pterocarpus forest) in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. In each forest type, we conducted 10 point
counts monthly for two years and characterized habitat variables. We performed a non-metric multidimen-
sional scaling (NMS) ordination and a multi-response permutation procedure (MRPP) for each year to
determine the similarity of bird species composition among monthly censuses and the relation between
|
