Movement Patterns of Frugivorous Birds Promote Functional Connectivity among Chaco Serrano Woodland Fragments in Argentina.

DÍAZ VÉLEZ, MARÍA CELESTE; SILVA, W.; PIZO, MA; GALETTO L.

BIOTROPICA

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2015 vol. 47 p. 475 - 475

0006-3606

ovement patterns of frugivorous birds may be altered in anthropogenically fragmented landscapes, with possible consequences forseed dispersal and plant recruitment. We studied the movement patterns and functional connectivity of six frugivorous bird species(Colaptes melanochloros, Thraupis bonariensis, Pitangus sulphuratus, Saltator aurantiirostris, Turdus amaurochalinus, and Elaenia spp.) in a fragmentedChaco-woodland landscape in Argentina. We recorded the directions of bird movements (arrivals and departures) and whether their destinationwas oriented toward a specific neighboring fragment. We evaluated the movement rates, distance of interpatch movement, andfunctional connectivity within the landscape for the six bird species. We applied a novel approach, graph theory, to represent bird movementpatterns in the landscape and the functional connections among fragments for each bird species. Bird movements were recordedat point-count stations established along the edges of each fragme